Passengers are arriving too early for their flights. They should do this instead.

Have you started arriving at the airport gate early? Like, way early?

Mary Vogel has. For her upcoming flight from Chicago to Paris, she'll get to the terminal more than three hours before her scheduled departure.

"I'm afraid there will be delays at the screening area," says Vogel, a librarian from Glenview, Illinois. "I don't want to miss my flight."

Vogel joins a growing group of air travelers who are showing up early — and in some cases, far too early — for their flight. There's a name for these passengers: gate campers. A recent survey found that 95% of early birds were driven by fear. Philadelphia, Orlando and Atlanta had the most gate campers in the United States.

"It’s no surprise we’re seeing more travelers arrive early and camp out at their gates," says Eric Napoli, chief le