<P> Airport check - in is the process whereby passengers are accepted by an airline at the airport prior to travel . The airlines typically use service counters found at airports . The check - in is normally handled by an airline itself or a handling agent working on behalf of an airline . Passengers usually hand over any baggage that they do not wish or are not allowed to carry in to the aircraft's cabin and receive a boarding pass before they can proceed to board their aircraft . </P> <P> Check - in is usually the first procedure for a passenger when arriving at an airport, as airline regulations require passengers to check in by certain times prior to the departure of a flight . This duration spans from 15 minutes to 4 hours depending on the destination and airline (with self check in, this can be expanded to 24 hours, if checking in by online processes). During this process, the passenger has the ability to ask for special accommodations such as seating preferences, inquire about flight or destination information, accumulate frequent flyer program miles, or pay for upgrades . The required time is sometimes written in the reservation, sometimes written somewhere in websites, and sometimes only referred as "passengers should allow sufficient time for check - in". </P>

What does it mean to check in flight
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