Guides · On the day
The five minute check before you leave home
Five things, four of which take seconds, and all of which are easier at home than at a barrier.
Nothing on this list is clever. All of it is the difference between driving straight in and standing at a barrier with a queue behind you.
One: the plate on the reservation matches the car
The gate reads the plate. If the reservation says one registration and a different car arrives, the barrier does not know you.
This matters most when plans change: somebody takes a different car at the last minute, or a hire car replaces the family one. Two minutes on the telephone fixes it in advance and nothing fixes it at the barrier.
Two: the dates are the dates
Specifically the return date. A reservation ending on the eleventh when you fly back on the twelfth is the commonest problem this desk hears about, and it is discovered at the exit.
Three: you have the operator's entry instructions
They come with your confirmation and they are lot specific: which entrance, which lane, whether the barrier reads the plate automatically or you take a ticket.
Different lots near this airport do this differently, and the one at eleven at night in the rain is not the moment to work it out from first principles.
Four: photograph the row marker
Not the bay, the row. Every lot looks identical on the way back, and the shuttle driver can put you within twenty feet if you can name the row.
Takes four seconds. Saves fifteen minutes about once a year, which over a decade is a good trade.
Five: something to clear glass with, in the door pocket
Covered in the winter guide, and worth repeating because it is the item most often in the boot under the suitcase you least want to move.
And on the return
Have the plate handy, know whether you owe the operator anything at the exit or paid on entry, and allow for the shuttle to be slower after ten at night. The shuttle guide has the real numbers.
If something is wrong at the barrier and the lot's own staff cannot resolve it, call the desk on +1 (984) 217-3460 during hours. We placed the reservation and can usually get it sorted faster than you can from a lane with a queue behind you.