Follow the Journey

Immigration at AEP Buenos Aires Airport

How long immigration and customs take at Buenos Aires AEP, what the customs randomiser button does, and the Argentinos/Extranjeros split.

By Patrick Hughes · 3 min read · argentina · April 2017
United plane in flight

This is about immigration at Buenos Aires Airport, specifically AEP (Aeroparque Jorge Newbery), where a lot of regional international flights arrive. Note that Buenos Aires has a second airport, EZE (Ezeiza), which handles most long-haul international traffic - the immigration experience there is different.

I had just arrived in Buenos Aires from São Paulo with LATAM, on a regional flight that landed at AEP rather than the more usual EZE.

Arrival at AEP Buenos Aires Airport

I was excited to see the Buenos Aires cityscape appear as we descended through the clouds. AEP is right on the riverfront in the city, so the views on approach are unusually good for an airport.

Buenos Aires cityscape from plane window

The only downside on this LATAM flight was deplaning onto a bus rather than directly into the terminal building.

Bus from plane to AEP terminal

The terminal building was less than 200 metres away, but cost optimisation wins out at most airports.

AEP airport terminal building

Immigration at AEP

Deplaning by bus means there's a small tussle when the doors open at immigration. My flight was arriving from Brazil, so the queue was a mix of returning Argentines and visitors.

As we entered the terminal, immigration was directly ahead. Two lines: Extranjeros / Foreigners and Argentinos. Passengers split roughly 50/50, but the Argentinos line moved noticeably faster.

Immigration queue at AEP Buenos Aires

Wait Time at Immigration

I was an Economy passenger, around the middle of the Extranjeros line. It took 45 minutes to reach the immigration agent. The questioning was brief - reason for visit (tourism), some standard checks, and I was through. Allow an hour from disembarkation if you're connecting domestically or have onward transport timed tightly.

Customs at AEP

Once through immigration, all passengers join a second queue for customs. The process is fascinating: each customs agent presses a randomiser button which decides whether you'll be examined more closely. The button chose me - the red light of doom.

What Happens If You're Selected for a Customs Check

Selected passengers are taken aside and bags go through an X-ray scanner. It didn't delay me much - a minute or so later the customs agent pushed back from his console and waved me on. No further questions, no manual bag search.

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