Flight Delayed? How Flight Tracking and Free Waiting Time Work

Somewhere over the North Sea, the captain announces a holding pattern. Twenty minutes, maybe forty. You look at your watch and think of the driver at Schiphol. Will they still be there?

If you booked a proper airport transfer, the honest answer is yes. But "yes" has some detail behind it, and that detail decides whether your evening goes smoothly. This guide explains how flight tracking works, how waiting time is counted, and the few things that can still go wrong.

Why does it matter whether the delay is before or after landing?

Every delay falls into one of two kinds. They are handled differently.

Delays before landing. A late departure, a slot delay, headwinds, a holding pattern, a diversion. The chauffeur can see all of this. Flight tracking means the pickup moves with your plane. You do not need to call anyone.

Delays after landing. A long walk from the gate, a passport queue, a slow baggage belt, a missing suitcase. None of this shows up in flight data. The plane is on the ground and the clock is running. This is the part where a message from you helps most.

Most confusion about waiting time comes from mixing the two up.

How does flight tracking actually work?

When you book, you give us your flight number. From then on, we follow that flight in real time, from the moment it leaves the origin airport. If it departs late, arrives early, or is moved to a different time, the chauffeur's schedule moves with it.

Landing 45 minutes late costs you nothing extra. That is the point of tracking. It is also why the flight number matters more than the landing time. If you only give a time, we can only plan around a time.

This applies to every Harchani airport transfer, whether you land at Schiphol, Rotterdam The Hague, Eindhoven or Brussels.

How long will the chauffeur wait for free?

Our booking terms include up to 60 minutes of complimentary waiting time, counted from the actual landing time of your flight. Not the scheduled time. The real one.

So if your flight was due at 18:00 and lands at 18:40, the free hour runs from 18:40.

Sixty minutes is also the norm in the market. Large platforms such as Blacklane and Sixt advertise about an hour of free waiting at Amsterdam, and many local operators use the same figure. What differs is the fine print. Some count from scheduled arrival. Some charge for extra waiting by the hour. Before you book anywhere, ask two questions: does the clock start at actual landing, and what happens after it runs out?

For most passengers on a flight within Europe, 60 minutes covers the walk, passport control and bags with time to spare. On a long-haul flight at a busy hour, it can get tight. That is when you should message.

What if passport control or baggage takes ages?

The passport queue is the one thing nobody can track for you. Passengers from outside the Schengen area go through border control, and on busy days that can take a long time. On top of that, the EU's new Entry/Exit System (EES) registers many non-EU travellers digitally at the border, which can add time while people get used to it.

Schiphol publishes expected crowd levels for each day on its travel day page. It is aimed at departing passengers, but it gives a feel for how busy the airport is.

If you are stuck in a queue:

• Send a short message. "Landed, in passport queue, looks like 30 minutes." That is all we need.
• Update us at the baggage belt. Especially if your bag has not appeared.
• If a bag is lost, tell us before you join the lost-luggage desk queue. Filing a report can take a while, and we can plan around it.

A chauffeur who knows where you are will wait calmly. A chauffeur who hears nothing for 70 minutes has to start making phone calls.

What about diversions, cancellations and next-day arrivals?

Diversion to another airport. Bad weather sometimes sends planes to Rotterdam, Eindhoven, Brussels or Düsseldorf. If the airline then buses you to Schiphol, we follow the new arrival time. If you end up staying in the diversion city, call us and we can talk about collecting you there instead.

Cancellation. If your flight is cancelled and you are rebooked, send us the new flight number as soon as you have it. Tracking works on the flight number, so the old one is no use to us.

Arriving the next day. A cancelled evening flight often becomes a morning one. Treat it as a change of booking and let us know as early as you can, so we can confirm a chauffeur for the new time.

Our terms also cover situations outside anyone's control, such as extreme weather, strikes or road closures. In those cases we tell you as soon as we can and try to offer an alternative.

What counts as a no-show, and how do you avoid one?

A no-show is when the chauffeur is there, the waiting time has run out, and the passenger cannot be reached. Under our terms, a no-show is charged at the full price of the journey, the same as a cancellation less than two hours before pickup.

In practice, no-shows almost never happen to people who are actually at the airport. They happen when:

• A passenger takes a taxi because they did not see the chauffeur in the first 30 seconds.
• A passenger on a cancelled flight forgets to tell anyone.
• The flight number was wrong, so the chauffeur was tracking the wrong plane.

Each one is avoided with a single message. If you cannot see your chauffeur, call before you leave the building.

Situation	What we do	What helps from you
Flight departs or lands late	Pickup moves automatically, no charge	Nothing, as long as the flight number is right
Flight lands early	Chauffeur is there for the early arrival	Nothing
Long passport queue	Waiting time counts from actual landing	A quick message with an estimate
Lost or delayed bag	Chauffeur waits while we stay in touch	Message before joining the desk queue
Diversion	We follow the new arrival or discuss options	A call once you know the plan
Cancellation or rebooking	We move the pickup to the new flight	The new flight number, as early as possible

What should you send your chauffeur?

Keep it short. Before you travel, check that we have:

1. The correct flight number and date.
2. A mobile number that works abroad, ideally with WhatsApp.
3. The number of passengers and bags, including anything bulky.
4. Any child seats you need. They are free on request.

On the day, three messages cover almost everything: "landed", "at passport control" and "at the belt". After that, your chauffeur takes it from there.

If you would like to read the rest of our questions and answers, our FAQ page has more. And when you are ready, you can book your airport transfer. The airport transfer page lists the airports we cover and what every transfer includes.

Frequently asked questions

Will my driver leave if my flight is two hours late?

No. A delay before landing is covered by flight tracking, so the pickup simply moves to your new landing time at no extra charge. Our free waiting time of up to 60 minutes only starts once your plane actually lands. What matters is that we have the correct flight number, so we follow the right aircraft.

Does free waiting time start at scheduled or actual landing?

With Harchani, it starts at the actual landing time. If your flight is scheduled for 18:00 and lands at 18:40, your 60 minutes run from 18:40. Not every company counts it this way. When comparing transfer companies, ask how the clock is measured, and what happens if you need more time after it runs out.

What happens if I lose my luggage at Schiphol?

Send your chauffeur a message before you join the lost-luggage desk queue. Filing a report can take a while, and if we know where you are, we can plan around it. The chauffeur will stay in touch with you rather than guess. A quick update is the simplest way to avoid any extra waiting charges or confusion.

Do I need to tell you if my flight is delayed?

Not for a delay before landing. We track your flight from departure and adjust automatically. You should tell us if your flight is cancelled, if you are rebooked onto a different flight, or if something slows you down after landing, such as a long passport queue or a missing bag. Tracking cannot see those.

What if my flight is diverted to another airport?

If the airline brings you on to Schiphol by bus or a later flight, we follow the new arrival time. If you have to stay in the diversion city, such as Brussels or Düsseldorf, call us. We can discuss collecting you there instead. These are case-by-case decisions, so the sooner we hear from you, the more options we have.

Is a no-show charged if I could not find my chauffeur?

Under our terms, a no-show is charged at the full journey price. That is why it matters to call or message before you leave the airport. In almost every case where someone cannot see their chauffeur, one phone call solves it within minutes. Save the chauffeur's number from your confirmation before you fly.