Short answer
Count the flights landing per hour at each airport, then staff one greeter per exit plus one extra for every hour where three or more flights land close together. Keep shifts to 6 to 8 hours with a 30 minute overlap for the handover, plan breaks in the quiet gaps between waves, and name one person who covers any flight that lands after the last shift ends.
Key points
- Plan shifts from flights per hour at each airport, not from the size of the group.
- One greeter per exit, plus one for every busy hour.
- 6 to 8 hour shifts, with a 30 minute overlap for each handover.
- Each greeter's phone shows only their airport, day and flights.
- Name an owner for late flights before the first shift starts.
Start from flights per hour, not group size
A group of 400 guests that lands over three days can need fewer greeters than a group of 120 that lands in one afternoon. What drives staffing is how many flights land close together at the same airport, and how many exits those passengers can use.
Split the list by airport and day
Each airport and each arrival day gets its own shift plan, even when the same team covers both.
Count flights per hour
For every hour of the day, count the flights landing and the travelers on them. Use local time at the airport.
Mark the peaks and the gaps
Hours with three or more flights are peaks. Gaps of two hours or more are where breaks and handovers go.
Set the first and last cover time
The first greeter arrives about 20 minutes before the first scheduled landing. The last shift ends about 60 minutes after the last landing, to allow for bags and customs.
If you already grouped arrivals into transfer waves, reuse those waves here. Our guide to planning airport transfers explains how to build them.
How many greeters per wave and airport
These numbers are a starting point for one exit. Add the same again for each extra exit or terminal your guests can use.
| Flights in the same hour | Travelers in that hour | Greeters at that exit |
|---|---|---|
| 1 or 2 | Up to 40 | 1 |
| 3 or 4 | 40 to 100 | 2 |
| 5 or more | Over 100 | 3, one of them leading the hall |
| Any number, VIP or accessibility needs | Any | 1 extra, assigned to those guests only |
- Keep one coordinator away from the hall, at the office or the hotel, who handles calls and transfer changes for all airports.
- With two or three airports, give each airport its own lead greeter, so nobody has to decide for an airport they are not standing in.
- On small days with one or two flights, one greeter can cover the whole day if the gaps allow a real break.
Shift lengths, breaks and overlap
Greeting is standing, reading names and talking to tired travelers for hours. People get slower and miss names long before they say they are tired.
- Shifts of 6 to 8 hours. Past 8 hours, plan a second shift instead of asking for overtime.
- A break of at least 20 minutes every 3 to 4 hours, placed in a gap between waves.
- Never schedule a break in the 30 minutes before a peak hour.
- A 30 minute overlap between shifts, so the handover happens before the next wave lands.
- Rest between days: a greeter who covers the last flight of the night does not open the next morning.
Handover between shifts
Most problems on a long arrival day happen at the handover: a guest who called about a lost bag, a flight that moved, a wave still waiting for one couple. A five minute routine avoids them.
Check the next flights together
Look at the next two hours of landings and their current status, so the incoming greeter starts with live times.
Name every open guest
Anyone who has landed and has not come out yet, anyone waiting at the meeting point, anyone at the baggage desk.
Pass on promises
If you told a guest someone would call them back, the incoming greeter now owns that call.
Hand over the kit
The sign, the power bank and the printed backup list stay at the airport.
Tell the coordinator
One short message: who is now on duty, and what is still open.
What each greeter needs on their phone
Get every phone ready the day before, not in the arrivals hall. A greeter should open one thing and see only the flights they cover.
- The list of travelers on their flights, for their airport and day only
- Live status, terminal and belt for each of those flights
- The coordinator's contact and the transfer company's contact
- The meeting point and where the vehicles wait
- A charged phone and a power bank for the whole shift
For where to stand and how to check guests in during the shift itself, see our guide to meeting a group at the airport.
Late flights after a shift ends
On every arrival day, some flight will land after the plan said the day was over. Decide who covers it before the first shift starts, not at 11 at night.
Set a cutoff
If a flight is expected to land more than 60 minutes after the last shift ends, it moves to the late cover plan.
Name the late cover
One person on call for each airport, who has not worked the day shift.
Confirm the new landing time
Check the live status before anyone drives to the airport, and again before leaving.
Arrange the transfer
A late guest usually needs a private car rather than the next wave. Tell the hotel to expect a late check-in.
Close the day
The late cover marks the guest checked in and tells the coordinator the day is complete.
For what to do when a flight is cancelled or rebooked to the next day, see our guide to delayed or cancelled flights.