Flight delayed? Japan airport pickups include 90 minutes of free waiting. What to do about known delays, missing bags, diversions and arrivals after 22:00.
The worry with an airport pickup is rarely traffic. It is timing: a late departure, a holding pattern, a long immigration queue, or a carousel that goes round and round without your suitcase. When your flight is delayed, what you really want to know is whether your Japan airport pickup is still there. That depends on where the delay happens.
Flight delayed: how long the airport pickup waits
Airport pickups include 90 minutes of free waiting to cover immigration and baggage claim. Our team follows your arrival using the flight number you gave when booking, so getting that right matters more than anything else. How waiting is counted after a delay, and what happens beyond 90 minutes, is confirmed by our customer service team. For the full arrival process, see how airport pickup works in Japan.
You know about the delay before take-off
This is the easy case. Once the airline posts a new departure or arrival time, message it to our team and they will confirm the pickup for the new time. For flight status, rely on your airline and the airport sites: Narita Airport, Haneda Airport.
You have landed, but your bag has not
- Check the screens in the baggage hall to confirm which carousel your flight is on.
- If the belt stops and your bag is not there, report it at your airline's baggage desk before you leave the baggage claim area, and keep the reference they give you. Tracing and delivery are the airline's job.
- Tell our team at the same time where you are in the process and how long you expect to be. They will keep the driver informed.
The airline will usually ask where to deliver the bag, so have your accommodation's full name and Japanese address ready. With less to carry, you can go straight to your hotel rather than waiting at the airport.
Your flight is diverted
Weather or airport conditions sometimes send a flight to a different airport, for example Haneda instead of Narita. If that happens, tell our team as soon as you land which airport you are at and when you arrived. They will confirm whether a car can be re-dispatched and the price. The airports are a long way apart, so do not head to the original airport to wait. Routes from each are on the Narita Airport routes and Haneda Airport routes pages.
The delay runs past 22:00
We operate 24 hours, so a late arrival can still be collected. Rides between 22:00 and 06:00 carry a flat ¥4,000 surcharge; an Alphard from Haneda to central Tokyo, for example, comes to ¥19,000 at night. If a daytime flight only slips into those hours because of a delay, please check with our team whether the surcharge applies. For more on late arrivals, see arriving late at Haneda or Narita.
Give us your flight number and a contact you will check, and a delay becomes a single message. Submit your trip on the booking page.
FAQ
- Is my booked pickup still valid if my flight is delayed?
- Yes. Send our team your new arrival time as soon as you know it, and they will confirm the pickup for the new time.
- If my flight is delayed, how long will the airport pickup driver wait?
- Airport pickups include 90 minutes of free waiting for immigration and baggage claim. How waiting is counted when a flight is delayed is confirmed by our customer service team.
- My bag has not come out. Who do I talk to first?
- Report it at your airline's baggage desk before you leave the baggage claim area, then tell our team how much longer you expect to be. The airline handles tracing and delivering the bag.
- My flight was diverted to another airport. Can the pickup be changed?
- Tell our team straight away which airport you landed at and when. They will confirm whether a car can be re-dispatched and at what price.