How late can I leave work to meet folks at the airport.
June 23, 2010 9:37 AM Subscribe
If an international flight lands at SFO @ 1:15 how long does it typically take for a passenger to get through customs, get their bags and show up at the arrivals bit?
I have to leave work early to meet family at SFO so trying to leave it as late as possible :)
I have to leave work early to meet family at SFO so trying to leave it as late as possible :)
Best answer: I land internationally at SFO a couple times a year.
It depends a lot on variables that are hard to control:
Time for plane to go from "landing" to letting people off: 10-20 min.
Time to get off the plane: Depends on their seat. 5 min?
Time to walk through that long tunnel to immigration: 5 min?
Time to stand in line in immigration: 5-15 min?
Time to wait for bags to arrive: 10-20 min?
After that its a short walk, assuming they dont get randomly selected for luggage inspection.
So: 35-55 minutes.
posted by vacapinta at 9:53 AM on June 23, 2010
It depends a lot on variables that are hard to control:
Time for plane to go from "landing" to letting people off: 10-20 min.
Time to get off the plane: Depends on their seat. 5 min?
Time to walk through that long tunnel to immigration: 5 min?
Time to stand in line in immigration: 5-15 min?
Time to wait for bags to arrive: 10-20 min?
After that its a short walk, assuming they dont get randomly selected for luggage inspection.
So: 35-55 minutes.
posted by vacapinta at 9:53 AM on June 23, 2010
Response by poster: UK citizens so a bit of extra time there - so sounding like 40mins ish...
Sounds like a plan :)
posted by zeoslap at 10:01 AM on June 23, 2010
Sounds like a plan :)
posted by zeoslap at 10:01 AM on June 23, 2010
Don't forget to check the airline's web site for actual flight arrival time - my recent international-flight meetings (LRH-SFO) have been running an hour or so late.
posted by anadem at 11:08 AM on June 23, 2010 [1 favorite]
posted by anadem at 11:08 AM on June 23, 2010 [1 favorite]
I usually plan that I will be through everything in about an hour, but there really is a lot of variability. I once waited three hours for someone who ended up getting extra questioning, and just recently made it from touchdown through customs to curbside in 20 minutes.
posted by Nothing at 11:45 AM on June 23, 2010
posted by Nothing at 11:45 AM on June 23, 2010
Much of the time it takes will depend on what other flights are coming in at the same time and from where. The line for non-citizens is always longer and if the other flights are coming in with a large percent of their passengers who are not citizens/permanent residents then that side of the arrivals gets backed up quickly. Also, if those passengers do not speak English or haven't traveled here before the process can take longer just because they don't know what to do or need extra help with the forms.
All things being equal - 45 minutes. But if there's any way you can check what other flights are arriving then maybe you could stretch that out.
posted by marylynn at 1:04 PM on June 23, 2010
All things being equal - 45 minutes. But if there's any way you can check what other flights are arriving then maybe you could stretch that out.
posted by marylynn at 1:04 PM on June 23, 2010
This thread is closed to new comments.
Only about an extra 10-15 minutes for international, sometimes even faster then that if they don't check anything going through customs.
posted by bitdamaged at 9:52 AM on June 23, 2010