Are there family-friendly cooking schools in Phuket that allow children to participate in lessons?

I follow the three hour advice if possible. Early is always better than late but I suspect the airlines and airports like us there early to wring a bit more money out of us.

Your not told to be there 3 hours early just to check in.. Your told to be there 3 hours early to allow time for things to go wrong, car breakdowns, traffic.. Etc... These things happen and you still have a chance of making your flight.

You don't say if you are flying domestic or international. I am not 100% sure with Phuket (And it may be different from airline to airline), but I know for Bangkok the international flights open 3 hours before, and domestic flights 2 hours before, although 2 hours early is fine for both.

What you will find with Phuket though, is people will line up before the ticket counters open, so if you get there less than 2 hours before, you may already be in a line that will be 45 minutes long by the time you finish checking in. So if you wanted to get something to eat etc, you might be short of time. So I personally would stick to the Arriving 2 hours before. Better early and relaxed, than late and rushing.

FFS

Ive been through before 6am before, maybe they meant the shops etc, once airside they slowly opened from 6am. Not that busy first thing give yourself 2 hours.

I would trust airline advice rather than relying on word of mouth from friends.In over 35 years of travel I have always seen the 3 hour rule in effect.

This is very common, but for peace of mind - my wife and I are always early!

Yeah well the airlines are the ones experienced in the logistics, and are the ones on the hook if their timing doesn’t fit, so if they start check n 2 hours before flight, they probably know what they are doing better than we do.

3 hours is a recommendation to allow for unforseen delays. If you are among the first flights of the day then you should be at the front of the security and immigration queues, so you don’t have to anticipate that extra 40 minutes variance that you may see during busy periods.

Short answer: yeah 2 hours is generous for an early morning international departure.

Arrive 3-3.5 hrs beforehand and you won’t miss your flight or risk boarding a plane covered in sweat

I don't know about HKT but what you describe is quite common yes, this happened to me before at other airports, counter just opens at 6am, even if it's kinda tight for the flight. Just be there at 5:30am, for a 7:30am flight that's fine in any case.

I would be there either way. Different airlines operate different.

Question for OP, will your experienced friends reimburse you if their expert advice causes you to miss your flight ? Asking for a friend.

International flights open three hours before scheduled flight time

They aren't open three hours ahead, more like 2. I have a flight from Phuket connecting in BKK to SFO next week. 1 PM flight I plan to leave my house in Rawai at 9:30 AM, giving me 1.5 hours to get there if there is traffic.

International or domestic

International 1 hours enough.

Domestic 1 hour enough