What time should you tell your driver to arrive? I've seen this question derail more arrival plans than any visa issue. A traveler books a meet-and-greet, treats the pickup time as the moment plans to land, and then spends the flight quietly anxious about what happens when the flight is late, the immigration queue is long, or the bags take a while. So let's answer it properly.
The short version: tell your driver when you expect to be available, not when the aircraft is scheduled to land. And accept that the number you give is an estimate. Airport arrival is a sequence of stages you don't fully control — aircraft taxiing, border processing, baggage delivery, customs checks, terminal exits — and each stage varies by airport, terminal, time of day, and the traveler's documentation and mobility status. Treating any single stage as fixed is where pickup plans break. Building in slack is what makes them hold.
Documents to Settle Before You Book the Car
The pickup itself needs surprisingly little paperwork. The preparation happens elsewhere, and it happens early. Start with the entry side of the trip, because a long queue at border control is the most common reason an arrival runs past what a driver expects.
- Passport validity and visa status: check entry requirements against your nationality, your purpose of travel, and whether you're connecting through another country. Rules are set by the destination and can change; confirm with the destination's embassy or consulate and the airline before departure.
- Arrival card or electronic entry forms: many countries collect these in-flight, at kiosks, or in advance online. Find out before you fly whether your destination requires one.
- Declarations and customs: know what you're carrying and what must be declared. If you're bringing medication, food, or high-value items, check the rules in advance rather than at the red channel.
- Booking confirmation and flight number: your driver needs the airline, flight number, scheduled landing time, and any codeshare details. Send these in writing.
- Terminal and arrival hall: airports with multiple terminals — or separate domestic and international halls — are where pickups most often go wrong. Confirm the exact arrival terminal, not just the airport name.
- Contact details for both sides: your driver's number and a backup contact, plus a way to reach you once you've landed and switched on a local connection.
Two of those deserve a second look. A flight number matters more than a landing time, because a driver tracking the flight can see delays and early arrivals that you can't communicate from the air. And the terminal detail is a frequent source of wasted time; at large international airports, two terminals can be a train ride apart, and some operators won't move a car between them without a new booking.
Timing: What to Send, and What to Expect From a Meet-and-Greet
Think of your message to the driver as a range rather than a moment. A sensible format is the scheduled landing time, the flight number, the arrival terminal, and an honest note that delays are possible. Most professional operators track flights and adjust their arrival at the pickup point accordingly. Ask, when booking, what their policy is for flight delays, early landings, and waiting time after you clear customs — policies differ, and the differences are worth knowing before you commit.
For a meet-and-greet, describe yourself and your party in plain terms: number of travelers, number of large bags, whether you're travelling with children, and the name as it appears on the booking. If you use a wheelchair or other mobility assistance, say so in the booking and again in your message. Assistance at many airports must be requested through the airline and the airport operator, ideally well in advance, and the person meeting you may not be permitted into the secure area to collect you. The realistic meeting point is usually after baggage reclaim, near the arrivals exit, or at an information desk; confirm the exact meeting point with the service provider, since it varies by airport and terminal.
If you're travelling internationally, give yourself room. The same airport can feel like two different buildings at midday and at eleven at night. A traveler arriving on an intercontinental flight with checked bags, a first-time entry, and a family in tow is not in the same position as a frequent flyer with a carry-on walking through domestic arrivals. That's a concrete scenario worth planning for: book the car for a reasonable window after landing, send the flight number so the driver can track it, and arrange a fallback message you can send from the arrivals hall if you're held up.
For travelers who prefer to arrange the whole arrival in advance, booking through a service that coordinates the driver, flight tracking, and meeting point in one confirmation reduces the number of loose ends: {{AWIN_MERCHANT_LINK_1}}. Whatever you book, read the cancellation and waiting terms before paying.
Communication That Survives a Bad Arrival Day
Here's the counterintuitive part: the more detailed your plan, the fewer messages you'll need on the day. Agree two things in advance — where you will meet, and what you'll do if you're late. Then decide how you'll reach each other. A local eSIM, an airport Wi-Fi connection, or a messaging app agreed beforehand all remove the scrambles that happen when a traveler lands without data and a driver is circling.
Send one clear arrival message once you're through. Something like: "Landed 14:05, through immigration, waiting at baggage belt 7 in Terminal 2; expect to exit in around 30 minutes." That's honest, specific, and doesn't promise a time you can't control. If the queue is longer than expected, the same message with a revised estimate does the job.
Finally, check the details that are easiest to assume wrongly: the exact meeting point, whether the driver waits inside the terminal or curbside, the vehicle description, and any identification the driver will show. Verify these with the service provider and, where relevant, the airport's own arrivals guidance. None of this guarantees a smooth arrival. It does mean that when the queue moves slowly or the bag takes its time, you already know what to do next — and your driver does too.
