Picking Someone Up from the Airport? Use Live Tracking to Time It Right
Anyone who has waited at an arrivals hall knows the feeling: you left early, the board says "Landed", and an hour later there is still no sign of them. A live flight tracker won't make immigration faster, but it will tell you exactly when to leave home.
Before you leave home
- Search the flight number on fly24, for example PK301 or EK623.
- Check that the plane is actually in the air. If it isn't moving yet, the flight is probably delayed. No need to leave.
- Look at the estimated landing time on the flight panel. It is based on the plane's real position and speed, so it is usually more reliable than the scheduled time.
When to set off
Work backwards from the landing time:
- Landing to gate: the plane needs 5 to 20 minutes to taxi to its stand, depending on the airport.
- International arrivals: immigration, baggage and customs often take 30 to 60 minutes, and longer when several big flights land together.
- Domestic arrivals: usually 15 to 30 minutes from the gate to the exit.
- Your drive: add your normal travel time plus a margin for traffic.
So for an international flight landing at 10:00, if your drive is 40 minutes, leaving around 9:50 to 10:00 is usually plenty.
Watch the approach
Open the airport's live page, such as Lahore (LHE), Karachi (KHI) or Islamabad (ISB). The Arrivals tab shows every plane flying in with minutes to landing. When your flight's altitude drops below about 3,000 feet, it is a few minutes from touchdown.
Share the flight with the family
Copy the link from your browser and send it on WhatsApp. Everyone at home can watch the same plane, and nobody has to call you asking "Have they landed yet?".
A quick checklist
- Search the flight number before leaving home.
- Confirm the plane is airborne.
- Use the estimated landing time, not the schedule.
- Add immigration and baggage time for international flights.
- Share the link with the family.