ETA vs ETA-Arrival-Gate: Why Your Flight Tracker Shows Two Numbers
Touchdown isn't arrival. The 2026 explainer on the difference between landing time and gate time, and why both matter for pickup planning.
FlightyFlow Team·· 5 min read
The 30-second answer
- ETA (touchdown): when the wheels hit the runway.
- ETA-arrival-gate (block-in): when the aircraft parks at the gate and the door opens.
The difference (taxi-in time) varies wildly by airport — 5 minutes at LAS, often 20+ minutes at JFK or LHR.
Why two numbers matter
If you're picking someone up, plan for gate time (block-in), not touchdown. If you're connecting, both matter — touchdown drives your ground-time calculation; gate time drives the realistic earliest you can be standing in the terminal.
OOOI
Aviation tracks four key timestamps: Out (gate), Off (takeoff), On (touchdown), In (gate). FlightyFlow uses all four.
#ETA#arrival gate#OOOI#aviation
Track your next flight with FlightyFlow
Free on the App Store. Live aircraft, smart alerts, and beautiful flight pages — built for iPhone.