What Terminal Is Frontier at MCO? Terminal A Gates, Check-In, and the Fastest Way Through

I worked airline gates for twelve years, and I still drive down to Orlando often enough to keep this one memorized. Frontier trips people up at MCO for a reason most pages never mention. So here’s the honest version, no throat-clearing.

The quick answer: Terminal A, but two separate gate zones

Frontier flies from Terminal A at Orlando International Airport (MCO). That’s the headline, and it’s confirmed on the airport’s own live airline directory at flymco.com.

But Terminal A is only half the answer, and it’s the half that gets people to the right building and the wrong concourse. Frontier’s gates at MCO are split across two zones that aren’t next to each other: Gates 1-29 (Airside 1) and Gates 70-99 (Airside 4), per that same airport directory. Not one tidy block. Two separate satellite concourses, reached from two different sides of the terminal.

First, let me kill a rumor. A few low-quality sites claim Frontier moved to Terminal C. It didn’t. Terminal C is JetBlue and the international carriers, with its own check-in and security about 1.25 miles away. If you booked Frontier and you see signs for Terminal C, walk past them. Frontier stays in the North Terminal Complex, in Terminal A. (If you’re a Frontier regular, the same discipline applies at Frontier’s other big East Coast terminal, at JFK — different building, same need to double-check.)

Frontier’s two gate zones at MCO — and why it matters

Here’s the part that actually changes your morning. MCO isn’t one security line that feeds every gate. It’s built in pairs. According to MCO’s own FAQ, you can move between Gates 1-29 and Gates 30-59 without clearing security again — that’s one checkpoint and one Gate Link train. Separately, you can move between Gates 70-99 and Gates 100-129 — a different checkpoint and a different train. The two pairs don’t connect once you’re airside.

Frontier straddles both pairings. Gates 1-29 sit behind one checkpoint; Gates 70-99 sit behind the other. So the single most important number on your trip isn’t on any terminal map — it’s the gate printed on your boarding pass. Check it before you pick a security line, because guessing wrong means backtracking through the main terminal and screening all over again. Good news on the lanes themselves: the directory lists Frontier with TSA PreCheck available. If you want the full picture, here’s how MCO’s terminal layout and checkpoints actually work.

Gates 1-29 (Airside 1)

If your gate lands here, you use the checkpoint that serves Gates 1-59 — that’s the one the airport directory files Frontier under. Airside 1 is also where The Club at MCO lounge lives, which matters if you’re a Priority Pass traveler. More on that below.

Gates 70-99 (Airside 4)

If your gate is up here, you use the checkpoint that serves Gates 70-129 instead — a different line and a different tram than the 1-29 crowd. One heads-up: Airside 4 is the concourse in the middle of a tram-replacement project right now. I’ve given that its own section below, because it changes your timing.

Where Frontier check-in actually is

Frontier checks in on Level 3 of Terminal A — the departures level, on the west side. MCO’s FAQ places its restrooms and nursing rooms “across from Frontier check-in counters” up there, which is a handy landmark: it tells you exactly where the ticket counters sit in the hall.

One thing Frontier doesn’t offer at MCO: curbside check-in. The airport directory lists it as a flat no. So plan to go inside, use the kiosks or a counter agent, and tag any checked bag there — not at the curb.

Check-in and bag-drop cutoff: Frontier’s 60-minute rule

This is where Frontier bites people, so read it twice. Frontier closes check-in and bag drop 60 minutes before departure — domestic and international, no exceptions. Miss it and the ticket flips to a No-Show Cancellation, per Frontier’s own travel policies. That’s not a delay. That’s a lost seat.

Sixty minutes is stricter than anyone else in the sky. When Frontier moved to this cutoff in August 2023, it went past United, American, Southwest and Alaska (45 minutes), JetBlue (40) and Delta (30), according to Fox Business. Frontier now holds the tightest check-in deadline of any major US carrier.

Here’s Frontier’s full countdown, straight from its Airport Info page:

• Ticket counters generally open about 2 hours before departure.
• Check-in and bag drop close 60 minutes before departure.
• Boarding begins 45 minutes before departure.
• Boarding ends 20 minutes before departure.

That 20-minute mark is a hard door. At MCO, with a train still between you and the gate, treat “boarding ends 20 minutes prior” as the real deadline you’re racing — not the moment you clear security.

How early to actually arrive at MCO for a Frontier flight

The Greater Orlando Aviation Authority (GOAA) tells everyone to be at the security checkpoint two hours before departure, and to confirm anything tighter with their airline. Solid advice — but don’t read Frontier’s 60-minute cutoff as your target.

The 60 minutes is the point where the door slams, not the point you aim for. Treat two hours as the floor, not the ceiling. Orlando is a theme-park airport; the security lines spike with families and stroller trains, and Frontier’s counters can back up fast when a couple of full flights drop bags at once. Two hours gives you room to clear check-in, find the right checkpoint, and still catch the tram with margin to spare.

Getting from the terminal to your gate: the Gate Link people mover

Now the beat nobody warns you about. There is no walking route from the Terminal A building to any Frontier gate. None. After security you ride an automated people mover — MCO calls it Gate Link — out to the concourse. It’s free, it’s driverless, and it’s the only way in.

Normally the ride runs about 4 minutes, per GOAA. The trains come constantly. The people who miss flights at MCO are the ones who cleared security assuming the gate was a two-minute stroll, then watched a train pull out without them.

One quirk worth knowing: Terminal A and Terminal B are two sides of the same building, only about 525 feet apart, and you can walk between them before security. But that doesn’t help once you’re airside — every gate still needs the tram.

Heads-up: the Gate Link tram replacement is affecting Frontier’s gates right now

This is the detail no scraper site has, and it matters if your gate falls in the 70-99 zone. GOAA’s $253 million Gate Link Replacement Project started December 3, 2025 and runs through Fall 2027. It’s rebuilding the aging trams that serve Gates 70-129 — that’s Airside 4 (Frontier’s 70-99 zone) and Airside 2.

While the work is underway, one of the two tram lanes on an affected airside can be out of service at a time. To cover the gap, MCO runs COBUS shuttle buses 24/7 — and overnight, roughly 11 pm to 4 am, or whenever a tram lane is down, the bus is the only ride out. A bus swap eats minutes a train wouldn’t.

So GOAA has tightened its timing advice for this window: ticket counter 3 hours out, TSA checkpoint 2 hours, gate 1 hour before departure. If you’re renting a car or getting picked up, the airport also says to add an extra 30 minutes to your pickup planning. If your Frontier gate is in the 1-29 zone (Airside 1), none of this touches you. If it’s 70-99, build in the cushion.

Lounge access near Frontier’s gates

Set expectations here. Frontier runs no lounge of its own at MCO. The nearest option for a Terminal A departure is The Club at MCO, and it sits right at Gates 1-29 in Airside 1, per MCO’s FAQ.

Which means it’s only useful if your gate is in that 1-29 zone. If you’re departing from 70-99, The Club is on the wrong side of a security line and a tram ride — a deliberate detour with real time attached, not a quick stop. Check your gate before you plan around it.

FAQ

Is Frontier moving to Terminal C at MCO?

No. Frontier is Terminal A, gates 1-29 and 70-99. Terminal C (gates C230-245) opened in 2022 for JetBlue and the international carriers, and it has its own check-in, security and customs. A few third-party pages get this wrong. Ignore them.

Can I walk between Terminal A and Terminal B without going through security again?

Yes — before security. Terminals A and B are two sides of the same building, about 525 feet apart, and you can cross on Level 3 without re-screening. But it won’t help once you’re past security in a specific airside; there’s no airside-to-airside shortcut on foot.

Which airline has the most flights from MCO?

Southwest — it’s MCO’s largest carrier by passengers, at an airport that moved roughly 57.6 million travelers in 2025, per Wikipedia. Worth flagging because Southwest also flies out of MCO’s Terminal A, just from different gates (100-129, in Airside 2). If you booked Southwest and landed here, that’s your zone — not Frontier’s.

Want to keep planning the rest of the trip? Here are more Orlando International field notes.