"Chaos at Xian Airport" Xi'an Tourist Trap Tip by lindyz

We arrived at Xian airport with about 1 1/2 hours to spare for our internal flight to Guilin, thinking that was ample time. However ... the queue for check-in was a mile long and going very slowly, and it took us almost an hour to reach the check-in desk. By this time we were quite flustered and anxious not to miss our flight. The lady at the check-in desk said there was something wrong with our tickets, something to do with wrong passport numbers. She spoke very little english, so we were getting quite frustrated. She sent us over to the China Southern desk, the lady there told me I had to go to line-up No. 72. By this time I was very angry and getty anxious. I stopped an airport guy who looked like he might speak english, quickly told him what was happening and he ushered us into the VIP check-in line. He clearly knew I was NOT HAPPY about what was going on, and we never did get an exact reason for the problems. We had enough time to check in (my suitcase was 3kg overweight!) go to the toilet and then get on the plane.

So, I guess this is just a warning that even though most people will tell you that check-in for domestic flights is only one hour, perhaps it is safer to allow a little bit longer for unexpected delays and problems!