A woman arrived at Denver International Airport one and a half hours before her flight to Costa Rica and tried to check her bag at the United desk. They told her to wait in the “additional services” line. So she decided to take the bag through security to check at the gate but realized she left something in her bag that led to a security pat down.
In a video with over 622,000 views, TikToker Gabby (@gabbylovessmallweiners) sits in the Denver airport, visibly shaken after missing her flight. She says that her trouble began when she was stuck in a long “additional services” line at the United check-in desk.
Why Did She Miss Her United Flight?
“I wait in that line for 30 minutes, and it would not move,” she says. Gabby explains that the line was so long that she missed the one-hour cutoff for checking bags on the international flight. So, she took her bags through security.
“I throw away like all my products that were larger than 3 ounces. I get my bags through security. Of course my bag gets flagged,” she says. She says she left a plastic bag with several scoops of protein powder inside.
“I always do this when I fly, and I always check it no problem,” she continues. “They’re like, ‘Sorry, ma’am. We have to check all your bags now.'” Security calls over a specialist to test the protein powder and give Gabby a full pat-down.
BroBible previously reported that another traveler was stopped for an extra security check when he brought protein powder in his carry-on.
The process finished 10 minutes before boarding closes. She says she sprinted to her gate but realizes it closed just two minutes before she got there. She tried to tell the United Airlines agent what happened, but he quickly cut her off.
“He was like, ‘I don’t want to hear the story. Do you want to get rebooked or not?'” she recounts.
He gives her two options: a red-eye connecting flight through a different airport or the same flight the next day. She says she paused to think, and he told her she has to make a decision. She says she walked away to collect her thoughts instead, overwhelmed from the situation.
The caption reads, “United will never get a dime of my business again.”
How Soon Should You Get To An International Flight?
Many viewers point out that travelers should arrive at least three hours early for international flights. This allows for extra time for check-in, passport check, security, and checking bags.
“I’m still on the 3 hour rule,” a commenter remarked.
“Arrive minimum of 2 hrs before the flight sometimes more. DIA is one of the busiest airports,” a second suggested.
Frequent flyers in the r/travel subreddit weighed in on whether three extra hours is actually necessary to make an international flight.
“Yeah, 90%+ of the time you won’t need the 3 hours but the rest of time you’ll be glad that you didn’t miss your flight,” one suggested.
Another traveler agreed, writing, “Whether you need that amount of time entirely depends on the airport, the time of day, and luck.”
In a follow-up video, Gabby shares that she arrived with the same amount of time for her new flight and was able to check her bags with no issue.
“Roll with the punches I guess! Still not going to show up more than 2 hours early tho,” she wrote.
@gabbylovessmallwieners United will never get a dime of my business again
BroBible reached out to Gabby via email and TikTok direct message and to United Airlines via email. We will update the story when she replies