# Picking people up at the airport: Do you park or sit in your car at the terminal? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 11, 2010, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/picking-people-up-at-the-airport-do-you-park-or-sit-in-your-car-at-the-terminal/535761 "2010-04-11T20:29:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2010, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/picking-people-up-at-the-airport-do-you-park-or-sit-in-your-car-at-the-terminal/535761/21 "2010-04-12T03:52:42Z")
> [@mhendo](#): > > We live a 10-15 drive from San Diego airport. > > When my wife is flying in, she calls me once she’s off the plane. Usually, by the time i get myself organized, jump in the car, and drive to the airport, she has picked up her checked luggage and is standing on the concourse waiting for me. Works perfectly. Ditto, except for me it’s Albany. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2010, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/picking-people-up-at-the-airport-do-you-park-or-sit-in-your-car-at-the-terminal/535761/22 "2010-04-12T03:55:16Z")
The cell phone lot at Reagan National (DC) is often full, I find. The one at Dulles is far away and poorly signed, so I’m reluctant to use it. Overshooting it would mean going miles out of my way down the access road. ---
**Author:** ![Shalmanese](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shalmanese](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shalmanese)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2010, 7:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/picking-people-up-at-the-airport-do-you-park-or-sit-in-your-car-at-the-terminal/535761/23 "2010-04-12T07:40:09Z")
I always tell people I’ll pick them up/want to be picked up from the departure area of an airport. Departure areas are always set up so you’re allowed a little more time to dawdle and there’s less pressure to get in and get going. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2010, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/picking-people-up-at-the-airport-do-you-park-or-sit-in-your-car-at-the-terminal/535761/24 "2010-04-12T14:00:04Z")
Why on earth would you pay for the privilege of picking somebody up from the airport? Go sit in the Waffle House down the road, for pity’s sake. (Unless it’s your 90 year old grandma, and then they may allow you to go through security and meet her at the gate, even now.) Unless you’re proposing, why on earth would you park and walk from short term parking and pay to do it, just so you don’t have to circle at all? Wait for the call, drive up outside baggage claim, stop just long enough for them to throw their shit in the trunk and get out of there. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2010, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/picking-people-up-at-the-airport-do-you-park-or-sit-in-your-car-at-the-terminal/535761/25 "2010-04-12T14:04:25Z")
I park. Nothing I love more than seeing someone as they come through the gate, especially if it’s my wife, which would be 90% of the time. ---
**Author:** ![Rafe\_Hollister](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/fbc32d/32.png) [@Rafe\_Hollister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rafe_Hollister)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2010, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/picking-people-up-at-the-airport-do-you-park-or-sit-in-your-car-at-the-terminal/535761/26 "2010-04-12T14:11:23Z")
I frequently pick up a friend at Kansas City International (MCI). He lets me know when he’s boarding at LaGuardia what time he will arrive. I time it just right and usually just drive the circle at the terminal where he will be. He steps out, jumps in, and we go on our way. I’ve also taken him to Springfield, MO, Tulsa, OK, and NW Arkansas. None of those 4 airports are a challenge at all. One of the benefits of living where I do. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2010, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/picking-people-up-at-the-airport-do-you-park-or-sit-in-your-car-at-the-terminal/535761/27 "2010-04-12T14:41:38Z")
In the Albany airport, there’s free parking for the first half hour in the short-term lot. So we park there (you can follow the flight online, so you can time your arrive to match the plane) and go inside the airport. ---
**Author:** ![Swallowed\_My\_Cellphone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9d8465/32.png) [@Swallowed\_My\_Cellphone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Swallowed_My_Cellphone)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2010, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/picking-people-up-at-the-airport-do-you-park-or-sit-in-your-car-at-the-terminal/535761/28 "2010-04-12T15:21:45Z")
> [@Neptunian\_Slug](#): > > But I have never seen a Philly airport cop enforce the rules at the terminal, therefore it is de facto legal. Wow, during most of my travels, they’ll chase you away within seconds as if they think you have a bomb in your trunk. I just park my car in the lot, wait for my party to arrive, then we go back to my car and drive off. ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2010, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/picking-people-up-at-the-airport-do-you-park-or-sit-in-your-car-at-the-terminal/535761/29 "2010-04-12T15:45:50Z")
If I care enough about a person to pick them up at the airport, I care enough to pay for parking and meet them at the gate. Otherwise, they can take the bus+subway and I’ll meet them somewhere more convenient, IMO. (This is Toronto’s Pearson airport I’m talking about.) ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2010, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/picking-people-up-at-the-airport-do-you-park-or-sit-in-your-car-at-the-terminal/535761/30 "2010-04-12T15:46:51Z")
> [@hogarth](#): > > If I care enough about a person to pick them up at the airport, I care enough to pay for parking and meet them at the gate. Otherwise, they can take the bus+subway and I’ll meet them somewhere more convenient, IMO. (This is Toronto’s Pearson airport I’m talking about.) The… the _gate?_ Have you been to the airport in the last, say, ten years? ---
**Author:** ![Swallowed\_My\_Cellphone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9d8465/32.png) [@Swallowed\_My\_Cellphone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Swallowed_My_Cellphone)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2010, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/picking-people-up-at-the-airport-do-you-park-or-sit-in-your-car-at-the-terminal/535761/31 "2010-04-12T16:04:39Z")
> [@Zsofia](#): > > Why on earth would you pay for the privilege of picking somebody up from the airport? Most of my friends are worth the $6 to meet them and help them with their luggage. I suppose if I was areal tight-wad I cold ask them to reimburse me. It’s not like I’m picking up sacks of mulch from the side of the road. > [@Zsofia](#): > > The… the gate? Have you been to the airport in the last, say, ten years? I’m assuming that was referring to the final arrival gate that people come through after they’ve pciked up their luggage, gone through customs etc. That is also where I meet loved ones at the final “arrival gate”. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2010, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/picking-people-up-at-the-airport-do-you-park-or-sit-in-your-car-at-the-terminal/535761/32 "2010-04-12T16:34:18Z")
I live about 20-30 minutes from the Cleveland and Akron airports. For Akron, I check their Web site before I leave and time it to arrive around the same time the plane arrives. They have a “wait lot” but the airport is so small that it only takes a few minutes for my friend to get his bag and meet me. They are also pretty lax about letting you sit and wait in front of the arrivals area. Cleveland is a little harrier, as it’s a bigger airport. I usually just check the Web site for arrivals and leave right when the plane is to be touching down. This gives the traveler ample time to get their bags, and I am able to pull right up to the door for their carrier and whisk them away. The first time I flew on my own I had my dad park and come meet me. I think it made _him_ feel more at ease. I paid for his parking on the way out. ---
**Author:** ![maladroit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f475e1/32.png) [@maladroit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/maladroit)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2010, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/picking-people-up-at-the-airport-do-you-park-or-sit-in-your-car-at-the-terminal/535761/33 "2010-04-12T17:49:02Z")
I go inside. Maybe they’ll need help with luggage or with the children or something. Plus the people watching is way better than it is in the parking lot and there’s coffee and restrooms, and those flight info boards. Unless I had a really good book I can’t imagine waiting in the car. The last time I was at an airport to drop off a rental car I was waiting in our car while DH went inside to the rental office. The security wouldn’t let me idle, I had to do laps. ---
**Author:** ![otternell](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ecc23a/32.png) [@otternell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/otternell)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2010, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/picking-people-up-at-the-airport-do-you-park-or-sit-in-your-car-at-the-terminal/535761/34 "2010-04-12T18:02:40Z")
My husband would wait outside in the car, doing laps. But he also had our dogs with him, so they would all be in the car. I’d step outside the terminal, look around, and he’d pull up with a car load of barking-ass dogs. Getting the luggage in the Jeep was a challenge, since the three dogs were trying to get as close as possible to me. That was the absolute best part of my trip - watching the jeep pull up to the curb, with three heads hanging out the window jumping, barking and yipping. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2010, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/picking-people-up-at-the-airport-do-you-park-or-sit-in-your-car-at-the-terminal/535761/35 "2010-04-12T18:35:52Z")
> [@ZipperJJ](#): > > Cleveland is a little harrier, as it’s a bigger airport. I don’t think little harriers land at Cleveland. Aren’t those military jets? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Swallowed\_My\_Cellphone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9d8465/32.png) [@Swallowed\_My\_Cellphone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Swallowed_My_Cellphone)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2010, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/picking-people-up-at-the-airport-do-you-park-or-sit-in-your-car-at-the-terminal/535761/36 "2010-04-12T19:07:18Z")
> [@otternell](#): > > My husband would wait outside in the car, doing laps. But he also had our dogs with him, so they would all be in the car. I’d step outside the terminal, look around, and he’d pull up with a car load of barking-ass dogs. Getting the luggage in the Jeep was a challenge, since the three dogs were trying to get as close as possible to me. That was the absolute best part of my trip - watching the jeep pull up to the curb, with three heads hanging out the window jumping, barking and yipping. Why does “Barking Ass Dogs” sound to me like another name for a “Shit Zoo”? ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2010, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/picking-people-up-at-the-airport-do-you-park-or-sit-in-your-car-at-the-terminal/535761/37 "2010-04-12T19:07:54Z")
I prefer to park and go in to greet, especially if it’s someone I haven’t seen for a while. But if it’s, say, my mom who I see a lot, I’ll just wait in the car. We have a routine. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2010, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/picking-people-up-at-the-airport-do-you-park-or-sit-in-your-car-at-the-terminal/535761/38 "2010-04-12T19:13:03Z")
> [@Neptunian\_Slug](#): > > I am pretty certain its illegal here. in fact before they set up the cell phone lot, people parked on I-95. They got $I50 tickets for that. But I have never seen a Philly airport cop enforce the rules at the terminal, therefore it is de facto legal. Usually its takes about 10 minutes for the shuttle arrive so I will see people at the terminal with engines off the entire time. > > Other airports may do a better job of shooing people away. Vegas is lousy as well. Not sure what you mean about Vegas. Our airport rocks. We have a whole half-floor of the parking garage that is just for people to park short term when then are picking people up. It’s got a walkway right to the baggage claim area. I think the parking meters will accept coins for up to 2 hours, then you have to go back and put more coins in. Most of the time when I pick people up, I’m at the airport for under 30 minutes. SO it costs me a quarter to park, go in, wait for them to get to baggage claim, then get back to the car. It’s easy, my truck is parked in the shade, and it only costs 25 cents. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2010, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/picking-people-up-at-the-airport-do-you-park-or-sit-in-your-car-at-the-terminal/535761/39 "2010-04-12T19:17:44Z")
> [@Zsofia](#): > > Why on earth would you pay for the privilege of picking somebody up from the airport? Because $.25 won’t break my budget. > [@](#): > > Go sit in the Waffle House down the road, for pity’s sake. (Unless it’s your 90 year old grandma, and then they may allow you to go through security and meet her at the gate, even now.) Unless you’re proposing, why on earth would you park and walk from short term parking and pay to do it, just so you don’t have to circle at all? Because it’s cheaper to pay a quarter to park rather than burn gas in my 1978 Chevy Blazer driving around in circles. Because I like to walk; I find the activity pleasurable. > [@](#): > > Wait for the call, drive up outside baggage claim, stop just long enough for them to throw their shit in the trunk and get out of there. Nothing starts a visit off better than a relaxed, joyous greeting. Tires screeching and a call of “hurry up and get in; we’re blocking traffic” isn’t quite the same, IMO. ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2010, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/picking-people-up-at-the-airport-do-you-park-or-sit-in-your-car-at-the-terminal/535761/40 "2010-04-12T19:30:15Z")
> [@Swallowed\_My\_Cellphone](#): > > I’m assuming that was referring to the final arrival gate that people come through after they’ve pciked up their luggage, gone through customs etc. That is also where I meet loved ones at the final “arrival gate”. Yes, that’s what I meant. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/picking-people-up-at-the-airport-do-you-park-or-sit-in-your-car-at-the-terminal/535761.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/picking-people-up-at-the-airport-do-you-park-or-sit-in-your-car-at-the-terminal/535761.md?page=3)