Driving at the airport

An airport trip is similar to a standard Uber trip—with a few exceptions. For trips starting at the airport, Uber’s technology uses a first-in-first-out (FIFO) system. Once you enter the “FIFO zone,” you’ll be placed in a virtual queue. The first driver to enter this queue will be the first to receive a trip request, when available.

To receive a trip request at the airport, you’ll need to wait in the designated staging lot. If you decide to accept the trip request, simply follow the navigation and head to the specific pickup point to locate your rider.

Please make sure to check your local airports’ information by visiting driver’s introduction to airport trips to learn more about the rules and regulations, locations of the staging lot and pickup zones, and other helpful details.

Driving mode queues

Advantage Mode is a program in select markets that offers higher earnings and more exclusive ride requests to highly rated drivers who accept more often, cancel less, and get riders where they need to go safely.

When you’re in Advantage Mode and waiting in an airport queue, you can access exclusive ride requests.

Drivers in Advantage Mode will also have continued access to PreMatch and ExpressMatch, where available.

When you’re in Standard Mode and in an airport queue, your queue status will be the same as it would be if you were in Advantage Mode. However, you’ll get fewer exclusive offers.

For more information on Standard and Advantage Mode, visit our blog.

Request access to airport trips

Airport rules and operating procedures are different from city to city. Check to see if you need a special permit or placard for your city’s airport.

Visit the Uber airport page for more information about your local airport. Most airports also have their own websites with information about local rules and regulations.

Be sure you have all the required documents for your city. Also, review which ride options your vehicle is eligible for.

If you continue to have issues accessing airport trips, please visit I’m not getting trip requests.

Arrival at the airport

Within the Driver app, scroll down on your message feeds to find the peak hours where we expect the most amount of flights for the airports in your city.

Flight delays, cancellations, and other factors might impact the accuracy of the forecast.

To stay closer to the queue and reduce your wait time at the staging lot, you can also reserve a spot at your local airports in advance for the day and time that works for you.

This feature is available at select airports.