Allow extra time when departing EZE
 

I departed EZE last night (November 29) for my UA flight to IAD. Terminal 2 was the busiest I've seen it in the last five years.

Normally I can be checked in (using the 1K/C/F line), have paid my departure tax, cleared security and customs in 30 minutes or so. But last night even though I arrived at the aiport 130 minutes before departure, I only spend 5 minutes at the UA Red Carpet Club before going to the gate for secondary inspection/wanding/manual shoe inspection, and boarding.

Even though there were only two couples ahead of me to go through the initial security questioning, one had a bottle of wine that they spent about 10 minutes arguing about (after having admitted they had the bottle in their checked luggage), before they handed it over to the security screener. The other couple needed to repack their entire luggage right in front of the checkin agent to avoid excess baggage charges. There seemed to be a lot of tourists returning to the US, seemingly unfamiliar with the current security regulations.

The departure tax line was about 70 people deep (at the usually shorter line upstairs). Mercifully hand luggage screening and immigration were only slightly longer than normal - although there were more people than usual who had seemingly lost their duplicate immigration necessary for departure

Also note that on US-bound flights, no liquids/gels more the 100 ml exemption are allowed on board even if purchased in the secure area. I knew the rules about no duty-free wine on board changed last month (as reported by Gaucho100K), but that also includes sealed bottles of water picked up at the Red Carpet Club - the gate screeners told me they thought the rule was crazy, and knew where I picked up the water.

So if you are need to check in using the economy line (and especially if you are travelling on AA with their four evening departures), get to the airport in plenty of time. My flight left full - with some passengers boarding right before departure after a seat count was completed.

John

Well, I took the same flight on Nov 28 and had the opposite experience.

DELETED - Double Posting - Sorry..

Good advise! We needed yesterday two hours from arriving at EZE to get to the gate of our flight AA 900 to MIA. Long lines at security/check-in and "Immigration out of Argentina".

Oi. I´m not liking the sound of this. Any ideas on the LAN flight EZE-MIA? I´m on it on Tuesday night. AND I´m trying to request bulkhead because my wife is on crutches. They were VERY good about it on the MIA-EZE flight here. I may add an extra hour now just to be sure.

But could someone be kind enough to do me a favor? I hate to ask because I know it´s in the threads here....but I´d rather spend less time at the locutorio and more time wandering BA.... :D .....can you give me a quick summary of what the latest is on transporting liquid from EZE to the USA?

I presume anything (within reason naturally) can go in checked bags, but to carry on. I am also presuming I can do my quart size ziploc with less than 3 ounces of liquid or gel. But what is the deal now with getting something at duty free and bringing it on the plane? I was thinking of picking up a couple bottles of liquor and some perfume (there are two of us traveling). Can we do that or not? Will I have to buy it all in BA and put it all in checked luggage? Thanks for helping summarize for me.

Ciao.....

We asked the perfume salespeople about it and they said that they could deliver at the gate, but we didn't buy to test that it works. I actually didn't notice anyone handing out duty free at the gate.

I had a ziplock but my companion did not bother and they didn't seem to care too much or find anything, but every bag gets inspected. I think they might have a "logical" approach to the ordeal and there was a sense of being apologetic about the stupidity unlike the zealousness that you would encounter, e.g. in Frankfurt. The bag search was very perfunctory. Bury your liquids deep in the bag or side pockets and you will be ok. :D

On the wall behind the inspectors there are TSA signs mentioning that liquids are absolutely prohibited but they are probably not up to date.

On the 28th I don't think it took more than ~25 minutes from arrival at EZE just after 20:00 to get thru check-in, tax purchase, security and customs. Maybe 5 min at each station.

I did not buy any bottles at EZE duty-free-shop, which had a good selection, but pretty high prices (especially for wine).
But I saw duty free bags delivered to the gate, however, only a few, three or four.

When I travelled back from EZE in Oct, my gf and I purchased wine and dulce de leche at duty free which was delivered at the aircraft door, after secondary screening. We were a little apprehensive but were able to enjoy the Malbec when we got back. You will get a receipt from the cashier as proof of payment.

How about early am?
 

I'm on TAM EZE-GRU next month at 600 am. Any early morning experiences?

Yes, for example, I purchased a bottle Luigi Bosca malbec reserva from the hotel bar for 35 pesos. I just happened to notice the same bottle on a shelf as I walked past duty free. It was USD 11 or pretty much the same price as the hotel bar. (!)

Thanks for the tips. I´m thinking, though, that I´ll probably pay extra at duty free for my booze than something cheaper in town. The premium is, I think, a small price to pay for allowing me to carry it and, thus, having more assurance for its safety, than trying to put it in my checked luggage and hoping for the best.

It's possible that Argentina does not have the practice of obscene mark-ups on alcoholic beverages in restaurants and bars........

Oh, and be really careful as you walk the gauntlet of perfume salespeople. 4 young women were attempting to douse me with spray as I walked toward my gate.

Since I'm allergic to most perfumes (instant, persistant headache) I had to yell, "woah... no!" to keep myself from receiving their generous attempt to poison me.

Rita

In reality, the marks ups do exist, while perhaps not as hefty as is the norm in the USA and the UK.

Another solution is to get your wines bought in town packed properly and check them in separately, which ensures your clothes & other belongings dont run the risk of getting stained.

I'm not a wine guy, but I generally buy a few bottles to give out as gifts. I see bottles in the 15-20 range in the supermarkets, and then see them at double or triple that price in the airport stores.

This is in line with my observations.

When i left on the 20th the line was horrendous, allow an hour to get to the airport and 2 hours at least to get to the gate.

Chris

Gaucho,
When you pack wines, are they in free-standing containers with handles? Or are they more like a typical wine "case" that needs to be hefted in one's arms?

Rita

My advice for anyone wanting dulce de leche is to buy it in a supermarket downtown and pack it in your suitcase. Don't buy it at EZE. It'll be cheaper in the supermarket and you don't have to carry the weight around the airport.

The containers with handles are not profesional-grade shippers, and while more comfortable to handle, they will not survive the checked baggage situation.

Therefore, our shippers are "case" format... however, we solve the handle issue by making a custom handle which allows you to grab the case like you would any other of your suitcases.

Great tip... ^ ^ ^ you will save a bundle if you buy it in town. Also, you have far better selection in any neighbourhood supermarket.

An update on the situation at EZE
 

I flew out of EZE for the US last night (Feb 9). Although I had no wait for security questioning (using the UA Elite line), and check in, the ecomony class lines were horrendously long.

Tax payment only took 5 minutes at the upstairs booth, but it took over an hour to get through security and immigration - most of that time was waiting to get in to the screening area. There were only two WTMDs open and a lot of inexperienced travellers it seems ...

I counted about 12 international departures scheduled for 9-10:30 pm, and the airport security screening was clearly overtaxed. There were many people asking to cut in line to be able to get to their flights, along with crew members trying to weave there way through the masses of passengers queueing up before the security screening.

So be warned!

John

November update for EZE evening departures
 

I departed EZE for the US last night (November 9).

It's obvious that tourist season is ramping up, and there are many inexperienced flyers at EZE. I breezed through security/check-in using the UA elite security line, but it took 15 minutes to pay the departure tax (at the upstairs booth), 20 minutes to get into the security-screening area, and a further 30 minutes to clear security and immigration.

Traffic on the autopista was heavy, but not stop and go, and no accidents, but even then it took 65 minutes to get to the airport from Palermo.

Note LH has reinstated their EZE-FRA service, with a 9:50 pm departure, adding another 747 load of passengers in the evening bank of departures.

John

Great update John!! Thanks for the reminder of the reinstated LH service.... great news for travelers from Europe!!! ^ :D

Indeed, thanks for the update. So if you have a 9 pm EZE flight, when is a rational time to leave BA, so that you feel neither particularly rushed nor that you're wasting time hanging out at the airport?

I leave my apartment in Palermo about 3 hours before my flight. The timing will also depend on:
Weather - if it's raining, traffic on the autopista will be slower with more chances of accidents;
Class of service/status will determine what check-in line you can use;
Whether you want to board at the first opportunity to ensure overhead storage space (if you are in Y).

I use a remise service which always is on time (or a little early) since they're situated a few blocks from my apartment. I have 1K status with UA, so security/check-in only takes 5 or so minutes. On Friday after clearing immigration I had 30 minutes to kill at the Red Carpet Club before boarding commenced.

The biggest hold-up is the security screening, and how many WTMDs are in use. Also with the dozen or so flights departing in the evening bank, there will be crew members cutting in line, not to mention elderly passengers in wheelchairs, and often passengers with children or pregnant women who will be given priority.

John

Thanks for the update.

Alas, I'm flying an airline out of EZE where I have no status, and no lounge access.

Many years ago, there was an American Express lounge at EZE that anyone with an AMEX card could use for free. Even at the time, it seemed like an oddity. I assume this lounge is gone?

Connecting on an Intl flight at EZE
 

We'll be flying in from Santiago to EZE via LAN Chile, transiting in EZE and then immediately departing onto the CO flight to IAH. Question, do we need to exit the transit lounge (if there is even one) into Argentina and then check-in with CO and then re-enter through Argentina Customs + Immigration, or can we remain in the in-transit lounge while awaiting our departure to the U.S.? I assume any answer is a bit complicated as the flight from EZE enters the U.S. and I assume there are extra security restrictions which the U.S. TSA imposes on all arriving passengers, so would those additional searches, etc. been already taken care of in Santiago or can they be taken care of in the in-transit lounge prior to actual boarding of the CO flight in EZE.

Appreciate any help.

Steve-o - you can stay airside while in international transit. You definitely don't want to go through customs/immigrations into Argentina just to hang around the airport.

US-bound flights have special screening/security within the gate area.

John

I used the American Express Centurion Lounge at EZE about 3 months ago. With all the construction going on it took a while to find it - so ask for directions

Some quick questions -

1) Are the current wait times as long as described as at the beginning of the thread? How long should we budget for everything?

2) I know we have to check in, hand over are luggage, pay departure tax, turn in our "tax-free" forms to get the VAT rebate, etc. Can someone clarify what order we need to do things (I'd hate to get to the gate and find out that I needed to turn in my tax-free form before going through security - or stand in line to pay the departure tax to discover that i needed to be checked in already.

3) I also recall reading that there is a not so obvious location to pay the departure tax that has less waiting - where is it?

4) Can I get the VAT rebate in u$s? And is there a similar window to the bank window after customs on arrival that will let me exchange my pesos for usd?

For reference, here is the order of things you need to do to depart EZE:

1) (Very Important to do this first) Get your "Tax-Free" (program for getting a partial refund of VAT when buying at certain stores) vouchers stamped - there is a seperate line for this. Because the person stamping the form may wish to see the purchased items to make sure that you are taking them out of the country (and haven't consumed them or given them away within argentina), you need to do this before checking your luggage. FWIW: I only saw one person required to produce the item.

2) Check-in with airline. For us (elite travellers on UA) this consisted of proving to an agent at the front of the line that I was a 1K, then a relatively short security interview by a security agent (did you pack your own bags, etc) where he placed sticker on our passports and "X-Ray" tags on our luggage. Finally we were in line to see the agent that would check our bags and give us BP's.

3) Go upstairs and get in line for departure tax. Stickers are applied to BP's.

4) Wait in line to show BP's and have tax stickers scanned (presumably to prevent re-use).

5) Walk a bit and get in security line. Security is interesting. Lots of armed agents, but looser procedures that in the US (no need to remove all that excess metal from your pockets, as no one cares when you set off the WTMD - in fairness the additional screening later on makes this fairly reasonable).

6) Walk a bit and get in line for immigration. There were two lines that begin next to each other but most folks would instinctively get in the first one not noticing the second one. The second one was a bit shorter. :) Immigration took the exit half of the form we filled out upon entry, stamped our passports, and (I think) double checked the departure tax stickers.

7) Wind your way through the duty free mega-mall to get to the reasonably well hidden "Tax-Free" VAT refund booth. You will be given a choice of pesos in cash or USD applied to the credit card of your choice.

8) After doing any additional duty-free shopping or airline club relaxing, proceed to your gate where you will need to remove all metal objects from your person and undergo a thorough wanding including shoes (but no need to remove your shoes). You then take your carry on stuff a few feet away to be fairly thoroughly hand inspected, before being ready to sit in the gate area and wait for yuor boarding group to be called.

VPescado did a good job of outlining the somewhat unusual EZE procedures. I'll add the following.

First, despite some earlier warnings, I found EZE check-in to be relatively speedy. I left Centro 3 hours before my 9:15 flight, and that was plenty of time (at least on a Sunday -- I understand the traffic is worse on weekdays). Coach check-in at AA a little before 7 pm was surprisingly speedy (I have no status on AA so I just waited in the regular line). There is a somewhat hidden airport tax booth to the left of the AA counter, which is a better place to pay your $18 than upstairs. The booth takes dollars, pesos and credit cards.

On the dual immigration line, look to see if the left side is shorter. Most travellers instinctively head right!

There seemed to be lots of people ringing up purchases in the duty free store, but I thought the prices there were extremely high. There's also no place to buy a bottle of water or a soda at a normal price, so I'd recommend bringing some fluids with you from BA (they wouldn't be confiscated until you do the final security check at the gate).

If you still have some left over pesos, there is an exchange booth next to Gate 2 that has a plausible exchange rate with no commission.

Finally, searching the internet, I found an English-speaking driver to take me to and from the airport. At $20, he was a bargain compared to current taxi rates. He's also a nice guy with an interesting story. Prompt service both ways. He can get busy, so I'd try to book a week or two in advance.

http://dantesairporttransfers.hazedaze.com/

iahphx,, Dante has been a secret of the tango dancers for years. He is a good driver and you should contact him far in advance.

When I departed EZE for the US last Tuesday evening (November 27), I completed security questioning/ check in /airport tax payment /WTMD-X-ray /Immigration in 30 minutes. This is about as fast as it gets. This was at 8:00 pm for UA846 which leaves at 10:15 pm.

I was chatting to the UA check in agent who always recognizes me, and he said to make sure I made my way airside as quickly as possible. He said that it wouldn't be long until the lines and wait times would be very long, and that flights are very full at the moment. He mentioned that the UA flights have also been weight-restricted lately.

I was lucky too in that Tuesday is one of the days that LH doesn't have an EZE-FRA 747 flight. UA is sharing the Red Carpet Club with LH, so that the club is overflowing when both flights are operating (5 days/week). When I was there 3 weeks ago there about 90 people in the RCC, with only seats for about 70. I was chatting to the RCC agent on Tuesday evening, and she said that they had 134 passengers (UA and LH), in the lounge the last night she was on.

Update on EZE departure
 

I asked for an update on the onepass forum but then decided this is better forum to ask for an update. It might look like a cross but it is not because our group is flying with 2 airlines.

My son is flying AA, no status. The rest of us are elite flying with CO eith BF or coach. Would someone mind an update of departure process for both AA and CO? How much is needed? An update on departure tax is appreciated, too.

It depends on which AA flight your son is on.. If it is the 730 flight to Ord then it isnt too bad. As it gets later the lines will get very long if no status and Coach. In any event I would still allow 2-3 hours ( I go for 3 and use lounge). Can your son be a guest in the CO lounge?? Tax hasnt changed I think is still 18usd he can pay it just to the right of the AA check in or upstairs. The other place in the middle of the floor always seems to have the longest lines. In general I think that the entire process is not as long and difficult as it was in the past.

Are the CO and AA lounges in roughly the same area? I'm a member of DL CRC and the AA AC. I remember one trip where I waited for a while in one lounge, and then headed over to the other lounge which was closer to my departure gate, to check out the different drinks and snacks. It think it was in EZE on my return home.

CO uses a generic lounge at one end of the departures area and is not really close to the CO Gate. The AC is at the opposite end of the departures area and is not at all close to the AA departure gates. I don't mean to imply that there is a huge distance, only that they are not in close proxcimity.

Sam