Airport Color Code Process ...Creates Smoother Flow....

[B Likes To Travel]

In theory, it could work. This plan is way too ambitious. People will panic.

[mdoeden]

So I watched the video. Below the video they had this: "This dedicated timeslot is determined for visitors based on the information provided in the ED (Electronic Disembarkation) Card where information on the departure flight will also have to be submitted. Residents travelling out of Aruba to the US should take their scheduled departure time into account to determine at what time they are allowed to check-in (not earlier than 3 hours before that time of departure). The Passenger Flow Control is introduced with the intention to prevent passengers arriving (too) early at AUA Airport for check-in. This will be in place for the winter season starting December 1, 2021, until March 12, 2022."

So does this mean you CAN'T get there more than 3 hours before you departure regardless of your window? They should have just said, "Your check-in window is 2-3 hours before you flight." We are heading to Aruba next Sunday (Dec 3). We are flying home on the 19th. I'll let you know how it goes!

[Jen Doe]

I am a big fan of color coding and hopefully it has a positive impact, though it seems rather more complicated than it should. We shoot for 3 hours before our departure, so it doesn't change our schedule. Admittedly, I am a little surprised that enough people were arriving greater than 3 hours before their flight as the driving cause of the midday congestion (and not that ~65% of the flights leave between 2-6p.) But, the airport has the data to compare when folks check-in to their departure times, so we shall see...

[LisaGrn]

The first thing they need to do IMO is change the times to a 12-hour am/pm format rather than the 24-hour format since this is for U.S. travellers. It's much more widely used and would eliminate lots of confusion.

[Andrea J.]

it is a real pain to use that military time format.
it involves math problems for me

The first thing they need to do IMO is change the times to a 12-hour am/pm format rather than the 24-hour format since this is for U.S. travellers. It's much more widely used and would eliminate lots of confusion.

[Traceyd14]

I like the idea, and think it has potential to be positive. During certain time slots, they can increase staffing as needed because they will know how many passengers to expect. My husband is on one of those, let’s just get to the airport and wait there types, so sometimes that meant arriving more than 3 hours early when we had a later in the day flight. This is how things get jammed up. You have the busy part of the day and people running late for early flights and showing up early for later flights. This idea may control the flow better. I think it is worth a try. The airport is constantly slammed on social media for delays and lines and having to get there early, so kudos for them for trying to implement a solution that MAY help. If not, it’s easy enough to scrap it. As for military time, when you grow up in the DC suburbs in a town with a military base, it just becomes second nature: just add 12 and done. Or just remember that 1500 is 3pm and count up or down from there.

[annf]

Pretty hard to time arrival at exactly 3 hours. Does this mean a jam up of cars with passengers who have 15 more minutes to wait before they can go in? Or does it just change the bottleneck to outside rather than inside. I do commend Aruba for trying to find a solution....but problem is a joint problem....Aruba is too small an airport to have that many planes leaving within an hour of each other!

[robin]

Pretty hard to time arrival at exactly 3 hours. Does this mean a jam up of cars with passengers who have 15 more minutes to wait before they can go in? Or does it just change the bottleneck to outside rather than inside. I do commend Aruba for trying to find a solution....but problem is a joint problem....Aruba is too small an airport to have that many planes leaving within an hour of each other!

I agree, but I think the bigger problem is not having enough agents at the desks, not enough people in customs, and not having TSA precheck lines.

[mdoeden]

I agree, but I think the bigger problem is not having enough agents at the desks, not enough people in customs, and not having TSA precheck lines.

I agree 100%!!! Those 3 things would speed everything up! Honestly, it always seemed to flow smoothly except for customs. Getting global entry helped a lot! Checking bags is also a major holdup because half the time you're not sure you are in the right line for your airline. I think the upgrades they are planning for the airport will help with that. I hope. Either way, I will have just had a great stay in Aruba. I can deal with the airport. I am one of those "just get me to my gate and I'll be fine" types of people, but even so, I'm usually pretty calm going through all the steps. It's worth it to go to Aruba. And I fly on Sunday, so it's not as bad as Saturday.

[Andrea J.]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-XmpmWw17Lw

the COO of the Aruba Airport Authority gives a short video of the process