What time of the day is there the most people in an international airport?
Jul 18, 2011, 12:09 am
#1
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What time of the day is there the most people in an international airport?
i am trying to figure out when there would be the least people in immigration lines...
does it follow a normal distribution starting from early morning, with most people at 12pm, then fall back towards late night?
does it follow a normal distribution starting from early morning, with most people at 12pm, then fall back towards late night?
Jul 18, 2011, 12:36 am
#2
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Depends on where you are taking about. At 2am local time, Atlanta is a ghost town... but at 2am in Dubai, the airport is packed.
Jul 18, 2011, 12:37 am
#3
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The least number of people in customs and immigration lines would coincide with the time(s) when no or the fewest international flights arrive at that airport.
This in turn depends on the flight schedules of the aircraft arriving at that airport, also taking into account irregular operations at the departing or arriving airport.
This in turn depends on the flight schedules of the aircraft arriving at that airport, also taking into account irregular operations at the departing or arriving airport.
Jul 18, 2011, 10:10 am
#6
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Keep in mind as well, that immigration authorities in many countries also match staffing to the number of scheduled flights coming in. The worst time for immigration at any airport is when there are unexpected flights arriving due to delays or early arrivals.
Jul 18, 2011, 10:25 am
#7
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Well, here are some exceedingly general trends, at least for the U-S:
1. Transatlantic flights typically arrive from Europe in the mid-afternoon.
2. Flights to beach destinations (Mexico, Caribbean) typically depart from the US in the morning and return late afternoon. This adds to the busyness in airports that have a lot of Europe flights.
3. Inbound flights from South America typically arrive first thing in the morning. So the relative handful of airports that have these flights can be very busy in the 5-8 a.m. range.
4. Flights from Asia are all over the map in terms of arrivals.
Conclusion: Try to arrive at customs between 9 p.m. and 4 a.m., or at roughly 10:25 in the morning.
1. Transatlantic flights typically arrive from Europe in the mid-afternoon.
2. Flights to beach destinations (Mexico, Caribbean) typically depart from the US in the morning and return late afternoon. This adds to the busyness in airports that have a lot of Europe flights.
3. Inbound flights from South America typically arrive first thing in the morning. So the relative handful of airports that have these flights can be very busy in the 5-8 a.m. range.
4. Flights from Asia are all over the map in terms of arrivals.
Conclusion: Try to arrive at customs between 9 p.m. and 4 a.m., or at roughly 10:25 in the morning.
Jul 18, 2011, 11:29 am
#8
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As others have said, it really depends on the airport. At YVR, most of the heavies from Asia come in from late morning to early afternoon, with the heavies from Europe coming in mid-to-late afternoon, so that would be the busiest time in arrivals.
In terms of YVR departures to USA, the transborder USA pre-clearance area is busiest in the morning, with the east-bound narrowbodies departing. It's stupidly busy in the summer on weekend mornings, as the Kettles all head home after being disgorged from their cruise ships.
In terms of YVR departures to USA, the transborder USA pre-clearance area is busiest in the morning, with the east-bound narrowbodies departing. It's stupidly busy in the summer on weekend mornings, as the Kettles all head home after being disgorged from their cruise ships.
Jul 18, 2011, 12:34 pm
#10
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I went to the airport earlier and it was very busy. It's usually busier later, except for those days when there are fewer people around. Hope this helps.
Jul 18, 2011, 1:11 pm
#11
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For europe, avoid morning arrivals. This is when the flights from North America get in. For north America, morning to noon arrivals are best, especially on the east coast. On the west coast, avoid late afternoon to evening and mornings from 6-10 as the transpacs get in.
Asia, avoid early afternoon,.
Asia, avoid early afternoon,.
Jul 18, 2011, 1:29 pm
#12
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Does anyone have a link of the vid that shows all airplanes around the planet? It was like 1-2min video snapshot of a 24h day. Showed the paths around the world pretty good. It doesn't really answer your question but can give you a general idea.
Jul 18, 2011, 5:43 pm
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Yet another great post by the OP! ^^
