Originally Posted by
clubman
You're unlikely to know which gate (as such) that would be, and you have to first go through passport control to get to baggage claim
There really is nowhere comfortable to wait in before baggage claim, plus you're likely to be questioned if you hang about, so if I were you I would do one of two things:
1. Get your luggage and then wait for her on a bench there, keeping an eye out for the carrousel her luggage will be coming out of once the flight arrives, and meeting her there.
2. Get your luggage, exit to the arrivals halls, get yourself a coffee (exuberantly priced may I add) and wait for her there, which would be fat more pleasant.
There are 3 arriving concourses (fingers) that emptys out into the circular rotunda that leads to the walkway down to passport control. Anyone can walk into any of those 3 from the rotunda, problem would be knowing 100% sure which one you need and which gate the plane will pull into.
In each finger there are toilets and benches besides them so one if they wish to can wait there and then walk to the entrance of the walkdown path to meet up
Ive done that and dont suggest it, the 2nd time my friends flight was delayed by a few hrs and not knowing it.Had I been in the Arrival Hall I would have looked up at the board above the exit doors from baggage claim and known about it.
Although there are benches as well in baggage claim, I dont think customs+ will see it as normal for a person to have their bags on a cart and then simply take a seat, which may result in wasting ones time when you do try and exit as they may want to do a long check of your bags. and it has nothing to do with Israel, I did the same here in the US and as I waited fora friends flight and CBP didnt like it, when I handed over my customs form I was escorted for a complete search, got lucky when the other agent asked why was I there and said they didnt like that I waited for my friends flight to arrive before leaving and yes he too was sent with me. They dont like it when a person does something that they see as not being normal, no matter where you are and thusly assume you are up to something