Short answer
Decide which airports the group will use before people book, and tell travelers clearly. Then check every flight against those airports, flag anyone landing somewhere else, and plan greeters and transfers separately for each airport. Always read times in the local time of the airport where the flight lands or departs.
Key points
- Choose your airports before travelers book, and say which ones you will cover.
- Check every arrival and departure against those airports and act on each mismatch.
- Each airport needs its own greeter, its own list and its own transfer plan.
- Read every time in the local time of the airport where it happens.
Why groups end up at several airports
Many destinations are served by more than one airport, and travelers who book their own flights pick whatever is cheapest or most direct from home. A wedding near Tulum can get guests at both Cancun and Tulum. A conference in London can get delegates at Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted and City. That is usually fine, as long as you know about it early.
- Cancun and Tulum, for the Riviera Maya
- Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted, Luton and City, for London
- Charles de Gaulle and Orly, for Paris
- JFK, Newark and LaGuardia, for New York
- Fiumicino and Ciampino, for Rome
Decide your airports before people book
The best time to handle several airports is before anyone buys a ticket. If you only plan pickups at one airport, say so. If you will cover two, say which two and what each one means for the traveler, such as a longer drive.
Pick a main airport
Choose the one most travelers will use, usually the one with the most direct flights.
List the airports you accept
Add the second or third airport only if you can meet travelers there. Two or three is a sensible maximum.
Tell travelers in the invitation
Name the airports, the codes and what happens if they land somewhere else, for example that they arrange their own transfer.
Ask for the airport with the flight
When you collect flights, ask for the arrival and departure airport. It makes mismatches easy to spot.
Flag flights that land somewhere else
Even with clear instructions, some travelers will land at an airport you did not plan for. Find them early, while there is still time to change a booking or arrange a transfer. Common reasons are a typo in the flight number, a connection where only the first leg was given, a traveler who added a few days elsewhere, or a cheaper flight home from another airport.
For each mismatch, decide one of three things: the traveler changes the flight, you add that airport to your plan, or the traveler gets there on their own and you note it. Write the decision down, so nobody waits at the wrong airport.
One team and one list per airport
Two airports mean two places where people need to be met, often far apart. One person cannot cover both, and a single list mixing both airports leads to mistakes. Give each airport its own greeter and its own list.
Check-in links can be scoped to one airport, so each greeter sees only the travelers landing where they stand. The lead coordinator still sees both airports on one board.
Plan transfers for each airport
The drive from each airport to the venue can be very different. Plan pickups separately for each one, with its own timing and vehicles. The questions are the same, but the answers change.
| Question | Why it matters with two airports |
|---|---|
| How long is the drive to the venue? | A longer drive means fewer trips per vehicle and later arrivals at the hotel |
| How many travelers land at each airport? | The quieter airport may only need a car, not a coach |
| When does the last flight land at each one? | Each airport needs a vehicle until its own last arrival |
| Where do travelers fly home from? | Some arrive at one airport and leave from the other |
Keep local times straight
Every flight has two times in two places. A flight from Madrid to Cancun leaves on Madrid time and lands on Cancun time. Mixing them up is one of the most common causes of a missed pickup. When the airports in your group sit in the same city, they share a time zone, but the origins of your travelers do not.
Watch the weeks when clocks change. Europe and the United States move their clocks on different dates, and some destinations, such as Cancun, do not change them at all. Read every time in the local time of the airport where it happens, and write it that way on transfer sheets.