KLM check-in: online times, airport check-in and boarding pass

Online check-in with KLM opens 30 hours before departure, and 24 hours before on flights to or from the United States. It runs on the KLM website and in the KLM app, and ends with a digital boarding pass.

This guide covers when the KLM online check-in window opens and closes, what you need to find your booking, how the process runs, and which deadlines wait for you at the airport.

Online check-in opens 30 hours before departure. On flights to or from the United States the window is shorter, at 24 hours, and that covers both directions: a flight from New York to Amsterdam and the flight home fall under the same rule.

The self-service kiosks at the airport open on the same schedule, 30 hours before departure or 24 hours for flights to and from the United States. Not every airport has them.

The deadline at the airport

The check-in desks keep different hours depending on where you are flying. A route between the United States and Europe counts as an intercontinental flight, and for those the desks open 3 hours before departure and close 60 minutes before. On a European flight they open 2 hours before and close 40 minutes before.

At some intercontinental airports, check-in closes earlier than that, in some cases 120 minutes before departure. None of them is in the United States, departures from U.S. airports follow the 60-minute check-in deadline for intercontinental flights.

Even with online check-in behind you, KLM recommends arriving at the airport 3 hours before an intercontinental flight, and 2 hours before a European one. That leaves room to drop off baggage, get through security and immigration where it applies, and reach the gate without hurrying.

There are two ways to open a booking for check-in, and the KLM check-in page puts both on the same screen.

With a KLM account. Select Check in with my account and sign in. Your booking is already there, so there is nothing to type in.

With your booking details. Open Check in with booking details and fill in three fields:

• your ticket number, which runs to 13 or 14 digits, or your booking code, which is 6 characters;

• the passenger's last name;

• the flight number from your booking confirmation.

Then select Check in to go through.

The process runs the same way on the KLM website and in the KLM app, and takes only a few minutes.

How to check in online with KLM:

1. Open KLM check-in on the website, or in the KLM app.

2. Sign in with your KLM account, or enter your ticket number or booking code with the passenger's last name and the flight number.

3. Follow the steps through to the end.

4. Your boarding pass is normally issued automatically once check-in is complete.

Your boarding pass shows your gate, seat and boarding time. Once you complete online check-in, KLM will normally issue it automatically. You can keep it in the KLM app, or download it to your phone from My Trip, from the email KLM sends, or from social media.

Dropping off your bags

With online check-in behind you, the only thing left at the airport is handing over any checked baggage. The deadline for that is not the same everywhere, so KLM prints the closing time for drop-off on your boarding pass.

If you are checking in at the airport rather than online, KLM asks for three things at the desk: your passport, any other travel documents your destination requires, and your booking code.

The boarding pass is in the app and the bag is dropped off, and the flight can still go wrong. A delay, a cancellation or an overbooked flight can still get in the way of your plans.

Flights to and from the European Union are covered by EC 261, because KLM is a European airline. If the airline is responsible for the disruption, you may be owed up to $650 per passenger, depending on how far you were due to fly.

Rules on the U.S. side come from the Department of Transportation, and our guide to US air passenger rights covers them.

To find out what you may be entitled to, start with our KLM compensation page.

Keeping track of your KLM flight

Check-in is done and the flight is still ahead of you. KLM publishes flight status on its website, while the KLM app provides flight updates and notifications about changes such as delays or gate changes.

For another way to keep an eye on your flight, the free AirHelp app can track it and check whether a delay, cancellation or denied boarding may entitle you to compensation.

With the AirHelp app you can:

• receive real-time notifications about delays, cancellations, gate changes and baggage claim;

• scan your boarding pass to add your flight quickly;

• share your flight status with whoever is picking you up;

• find out automatically when you are owed up to $650 in compensation;

• start your claim straight from the app, with no paperwork.

The app is free and available on iOS and Android.