News & Advice

How to Get Off the Airplane and Through Immigration in 12 Minutes

It's possible: to deplane quickly with your personal items (and sanity) intact. Here are six steps to getting off the plane—and through customs—in 12 minutes.
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Illustration by Louisa Cannell

I have two great skills as a traveler: The first is my disciplined, even punitive, approach to packing. The second is my ability to get off the plane and through immigration in under 15 minutes (my all-time record: Narita, off the plane and through customs, in 12 minutes).

Sometimes, of course, there’s no quick way to make it through immigration: Different airports have gluts of incoming flights at different times of day, and short of rearranging your flight schedule to ensure you’ll land at a low-traffic hour, there’s nothing you can do. On the other hand, there are some things you can in fact do in order to improve your chances. (And you don’t need to belong to TSA PreCheck to do it.) Here’s how it’s done.

Step 1: Get ready

Yes, it helps if you’re sitting near the front of the plane, and yes, you have a head start if you’re in business or first class. But it’s not necessary. What isnecessary is that you have everything set and ready to go, so you’re not one of those people fumbling around in the aisle, stuffing their magazines and makeup bags back into your carry-on. Right before the plane begins its descent, move your bag in the overhead bin so its handles are easy to grab. Put away everything you took out over the course of the trip. This is your big opportunity to get all of your belongings in order—not when the plane lands.

Step 2: Everything within reach

As soon as the plane touches down, settle your purse (or whatever’s under the seat in front of you) in your lap. Take out your passport and landing card and hold it in your hand or slip it in your pocket (obviously, you should’ve filled these out as soon as you got them).

Step 3: Bolt

Once the seatbelt sign goes off, get into the aisle and scoot as far ahead as you can. This is sort of obnoxious, but on the other hand, you’re keeping the traffic moving and not blocking the lane out of some misguided and antiquated sense of politeness. No one benefits from your dawdling.

Step 4: Run like hell

The most important rule: Don’t be one of those people lingering for who-knows-what in the ramp or ambling like cows about to be sent up the chute. Walk briskly, as briskly as you can. Stick to one side of the ramp so you won’t impede the flow of traffic. Don’t make a call; it slows you down, and you’ll have plenty of time to make your call later. Don’t let yourself get stuck walking behind someone poky. (Added benefit: The burst of cardio after a sustained period of sitting is highly refreshing.)

Step 5: Take advantage of any people-movers…

...but keep moving on them. This means escalators, moving sidewalks, etc.: Get on them, but don’t slow down the pace.

Step 6: Be alert

Once you join the queue for the immigration line, pay attention to what the expeditor tells you. Have your papers ready. Don’t have your cell phone out. Take off your hat. Open your passport to the page with your photo and present it to the immigration officer already open. If you have a visa you have to present upon entry, flag that page with a sticky note so it’s easy for the officer to find.

Bonus step: Brag about your victory to your friends and coworkers until they all want to kill you. Then brag about it to strangers.

Illustration by Louisa Cannell