Airport terminal: how to figure out where to go

The most reliable source: boarding pass and booking confirmation

The boarding pass or booking confirmation almost always lists the terminal next to the flight number and departure time: verify this before leaving home, not upon arriving by taxi, so you can tell the driver the correct destination or choose the right public transportation stop. When the document doesn't specify it because the booking went through an agency or a flight comparison site, the airline website or the airport website allows you to verify it by entering the flight number.

Why not to trust past experience

The same airline can operate from different terminals depending on the flight destination, a variability common at large airports with many international routes: assuming the "usual" terminal is always the right one is a frequent mistake among regular travelers. Codeshare flights, physically operated by a different airline than the one with which you purchased the ticket, add another variable: verification must be done on the code of the actually operating flight, not on the brand shown on your ticket.

Signage, renovation work, and internal areas of the same building

During renovation projects, some airports temporarily move one airline's operations to a different terminal than usual, a change that guides not updated recently might not yet reflect: it's worth checking the last modified date of your sources. In large complexes with a single building divided into multiple modules, the relevant information isn't the terminal but the specific module, and internal signage should be followed as carefully as if the buildings were physically separate. Once you've identified the correct terminal, the next step concerns finding the specific gate, covered in detail in the article on what the gate means and how to find it.

Those accompanying a passenger and those flying with minor airlines

Even those accompanying a passenger without flying themselves should verify the correct terminal: some airports apply different access rules by zone, with areas that require a valid ticket past a certain point. Charter flights or flights from lesser-known airlines, finally, sometimes depart from secondary terminals dedicated to this traffic: verifying this carefully avoids looking for information in the wrong main terminal.

Verify the terminal by entering the flight number on the airport or airline website before leaving home, and save a screenshot of the confirmation: you'll have it as an immediate reference even if data connection is spotty right outside the building.