Мы подошли к стойке регистрации за два часа до вылета.

Подошли is the past tense plural form of подойти, a perfective verb meaning to come up to, to walk up to, or to approach.

In this sentence, it suggests that we reached the check-in counter and came up to it. It is not just general motion; it focuses on the moment of arriving at that specific place.

So the image is:

• we were moving,
• then we came up to the counter,
• that action was completed.

Because Russian often chooses very specific motion verbs, подошли is more precise than a simple went.

Both are possible in some contexts, but they are not identical.

• пришли = arrived / came
• подошли = came up to / approached

So:

• Мы пришли в аэропорт... = We arrived at the airport...
• Мы подошли к стойке регистрации... = We walked up to the check-in counter...

With подошли, the important point is getting close to the counter itself. It sounds more natural if the speaker wants to describe the specific action at the airport, not just arrival in general.

Подошли is:

• past tense
• plural
• from the verb подойти
• perfective aspect

Why plural? Because the subject is мы = we.

Why perfective? Because the action is seen as completed: we did walk up to the counter.

Compare:

• подходили = were approaching / used to approach / approached repeatedly or without focus on completion
• подошли = approached and reached it

Because the preposition к requires the dative case.

The base noun is:

• стойка = counter, desk, stand

Its dative singular form is:

• стойке

So:

• к стойке = to the counter / up to the counter

This is a very common pattern:

• к дому = to the house
• к другу = to a friend
• к двери = to the door
• к стойке = to the counter

Регистрации is the genitive singular of регистрация.

Here it works like of check-in / of registration, so:

• стойка регистрации = check-in counter
• literally: counter of registration/check-in

This is a very common Russian noun-noun structure, where the second noun goes into the genitive:

• чашка чая = cup of tea
• центр города = city center
• билет на поезд is a different pattern, but
• стойка регистрации = check-in counter

So регистрации is not there because of the preposition к. Only стойке is controlled by к.
The word регистрации depends on стойке and describes what kind of counter it is.

In time expressions, за + accusative can mean a certain amount of time before something.

So:

• за час до... = an hour before...
• за два часа до... = two hours before...
• за неделю до... = a week before...

This is a fixed and very common pattern:

за + amount of time + до + event

Examples:

• за десять минут до начала = ten minutes before the start
• за день до отъезда = a day before departure

So in your sentence, за два часа до вылета means two hours before the flight/departure.

After the numbers 2, 3, 4, Russian usually uses the genitive singular form of the noun.

So:

• два часа = two hours
• три часа = three hours
• четыре часа = four hours

But:

• пять часов = five hours
• шесть часов = six hours

And:

• один час = one hour

So the pattern is:

• 1 → nominative singular: час
• 2, 3, 4 → genitive singular: часа
• 5+ → genitive plural: часов

That is why два часа is correct here.

Because the preposition до requires the genitive case.

The noun is:

• вылет = departure, takeoff, flight departure

Its genitive singular form is:

• вылета

So:

• до вылета = before the departure / before the flight

This happens with all nouns after до:

• до дома = before reaching home / as far as the house
• до утра = until morning
• до конца = until the end
• до вылета = before departure

Not exactly.

Вылет literally means departure or takeoff/departure time, not the whole flight as an event.

In airport language, до вылета is very natural and means before departure. In English, this is often translated more naturally as before the flight, even though the Russian word is specifically about departure.

So the sentence is not focusing on the whole journey in the air; it is focusing on the scheduled departure time.

Russian uses different structures from English.

In English, you say:

• at the check-in counter
• to the check-in counter

In Russian, the preposition к already gives the idea of movement toward or up to something:

• подошли к стойке = walked up to the counter

You do not need an extra word corresponding to English at here, because the verb подошли plus к already expresses the relationship clearly.

Yes. Russian word order is relatively flexible, although some orders sound more neutral than others.

The original sentence:

• Мы подошли к стойке регистрации за два часа до вылета.

This is neutral and natural.

Other possible orders include:

• За два часа до вылета мы подошли к стойке регистрации.
• К стойке регистрации мы подошли за два часа до вылета.

These versions are still grammatical, but the emphasis changes:

• starting with За два часа до вылета highlights the time
• starting with К стойке регистрации highlights the destination

So the original word order is a straightforward, unmarked way to say it.

Yes, it is completely normal.

Common airport words include:

• стойка регистрации = check-in counter
• регистрация = check-in
• посадка = boarding
• выход = gate/exit, depending on context
• вылет = departure

You may also hear related phrases such as:

• пройти регистрацию = to check in
• очередь на регистрацию = line for check-in
• стойка информации = information desk

So стойка регистрации is exactly the kind of phrase you should expect in airport Russian.

Not with the same meaning.

• к стойке регистрации = to the check-in counter
• на регистрацию = for check-in / to check in

If you want to say we went to check in, Russian often uses:

• Мы пошли на регистрацию.

If you want to say we walked up to the check-in counter, then:

• Мы подошли к стойке регистрации.

So the original sentence is more physically specific: it describes approaching the actual desk.

It breaks down like this:

• Мы = we
• подошли = approached / walked up
• к стойке регистрации = to the check-in counter
• за два часа до вылета = two hours before departure

So the grammar pattern is roughly:

subject + verb + destination + time expression

A useful model to remember is:

подойти к + dative = to approach / come up to
за + time amount + до + genitive = a certain time before something

That makes this sentence a very useful example for both movement and time expressions.