FlyingFishMan

I am arriving on a Tuesday on UA 129 IAH-GIG at 9:20 AM and trying to plan my day in Rio. Does anybody have recent experience with how much time customs and immigrations take on average for a non-Brazilian? Seems like UA129 is at the tail-end of a bunch of international flights.

Thanks!

channa

Welcome to Flyertalk!

I flew it about 10 months ago, and was in the front of BF. There was no immigration line whatsoever when we arrived. YMMV.

FlyingFishMan

Thanks for the welcome and the info. Just what I was looking for. No BF, though. Unfortunately.

marquis930

I was on that flight last week and, like the other poster, I was in BF. the immigration process was quick for my wife and I because we only had to wait for a small number of people in front of us.

A couple of things that you might want to keep in mind:

- My flight was delayed by about 90 minutes due to an equipment problem at IAH, so your experience may be different if your flight is on time.
- By the time my passport was stamped, there was a pretty long line of passengers from my flight behind us, but there were no passengers from other flights in line wi us.
- There were only 3 immigration agents stamping passports, but there were several other staffers trying to keep the line moving by insuring that people had pens and immigration forms filled out while they were waiting in line.
- The process of getting our checked bags was much quicker than expected. Our bags were out within 10 minutes of us clearing immigration check-in.

UA840

The five or six times I have landed in GIG (from the US) immigration has been quick and relatively easy. Customs seems to be a bit of a long line sometimes. It moves, but I have seen the line add an extra 15 or 20 minutes to my travel time. If you are not checking bags you can reasonably budget about 1.5 hours from landing to Ipanema/Copacabana.

FlyingFishMan

Just wanted to share my experience -- which was in line with what everybody had been reported. Immigrations and Customs took about 30 min, plenty of time to make a tour leaving from Zona Sul at 1 PM. I just wish US immigrations were that easy...

Thanks for your input.

GDaoV

Good deal! I will be making this flight next Friday. I hope to be settled in at the hotel by lunch time and sipping a Caipirinha with my meal.

jbcarioca

If you need local advice while you're here just drop me a PM. I live in Zona Sul.

1K-SFO

Bumping up this thread to check for recent experiences... arriving from JFK on AA around 10:20am... anyone done this recently? Thanks!

VidaNaPraia

That should be later than the majority of early morning arrivals, so things should go quickly.
Also it will be after the rush hour traffic into/around town.

Richym99

Arrived in GIG on UA129 a couple of weeks ago, on a UK passport (non visa). Admittedly one of the first off the plane but was through immigration in a matter of minutes and walked straight through customs green zone without being stopped.

Traffic on the RJ-071 expressway was nose to tail and this was midday on a Sunday. I get the impression that rush hour in Rio is a permenent feature.

Esmjb

Flew in last week on American out of Miami and got in around 7am. Was seated in economy class in middle of plane. Took me about 15 min to get through immigration and then customs just waved me right through which was quite surprising as the other 5 times I flew in this year I had to put my stuff through the X-ray and many other people had to open up their suitcases and be searched. Looks like you will be in the front of the plane and my guess is you breeze right through.

Boraxo

KDS777

I've always arrived at GIG between 9-11 AM. But, since the World Cup and Olympics are over, they've really kept their game on track at immigration. I've never been longer than 15 minutes in the line. I go there 2-3 times a year FWIW.

Boraxo