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Early-morning airport pick-ups: how to make 3am painless

3am pickups are the least fun part of a holiday. Here's how to make them survivable — pre-flight prep, coffee, and a plan for the car ride.

2025-11-06 · 4 min read

Half our summer bookings are 3–5am pickups for early charter flights. Here's how to make them bearable.

The night before

  • Pack the car bag: passports, boarding passes, phone charger, wallet, one change of clothes. Set it by the front door.
  • Bag by the door: cases zipped and by the front door before you go to bed.
  • Shower before bed, not in the morning. You'll thank us.
  • Wear tomorrow's travel clothes to bed if you like living dangerously — most people don't, but it removes one decision from the morning.
  • Sleep by 10pm if you can. 4 hours of sleep is better than 3.

The morning

  • Set the alarm for 45 minutes before pick-up, not 30. You'll want the buffer.
  • Coffee in a travel cup for the car — we won't judge.
  • Boarding passes on your phone, not printed. Everything is digital these days; save the paper drama.
  • Do a final "phone, wallet, passport" tap before you shut the door.

During the pickup

  • We text on the way. If you'd rather we didn't ring the doorbell (kids asleep, neighbours), tell us at booking.
  • We'll help with cases.
  • We won't be chatty at 3am unless you want us to be.

In the car

  • Charging points are in every vehicle — use them.
  • Free Wi-Fi in our executive V-Class cars if you need it.
  • If someone in the group wants to sleep, they can — we'll drive smooth and quiet.

At the airport

  • Priority security is worth it at that hour. Every airport sells it for £5–8.
  • Coffee airside is better than trying to make one at home in the dark.

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