Status: Checked against official sources on 18 October 2026
FREQUENT FLYER GLOSSARY
What is an airport meet and greet?
Airport meet and greet is the label used for staffed help at the terminal. Heathrow Airport lists porters, guest services and Meet and Assist among its "Helpful Heathrow services", advertises VIP treatment with a chauffeur, private check-in, security and passport control as a separate option, and also uses Meet & Greet as the name of a parking product. [1] [4]
Facts checked: 18 October 2026
Key takeaways
- Meet and greet is an umbrella name for staffed help at the airport. Heathrow sells porters, guest services, Meet and Assist and VIP treatment as separate services, and also uses Meet & Greet as the name of a parking product. [1] [4]
- It is not a queue-jump or a waiting room. Heathrow sells Fast Track as its own pre-bookable route through security or passport control, and presents lounges as somewhere to relax before a flight. [1] [4]
What does an airport meet and greet include?
Heathrow's airport services page is the clearest published example of what the label covers. Under the heading "Helpful Heathrow services" it lists porters, guest services, Meet and Assist and Fast Track as separate entries rather than as one shared product, and it advertises VIP treatment further down the same page. [1]
The parts listed on that page are:
- Porters. Porter services appear in the helpful services list and again inside Heathrow's baggage services, alongside bag wrapping, baggage delivery, baggage shipping and baggage storage. [1]
- Meet and Assist. Listed as an entry in its own right, separately from Fast Track. [1]
- VIP treatment. Heathrow describes this as travelling in style with a chauffeur, private check-in, security and passport control. [1]
- Free assistance. Heathrow also runs a free assistance service for getting the help you need at the airport, listed separately from the paid service tiles. [1]
How is meet and greet different from fast track?
Fast Track is a pre-bookable route through a checkpoint; meet and greet is staffed help. Heathrow invites travellers to pre-book Fast Track for security or passport control, and lists porters, guest services and Meet and Assist separately on the same page. [1] Heathrow's lounges and hotels page repeats the Fast Track booking offer alongside its lounge and hotel content. [4]
If the goal is a quicker route through security or passport control, Heathrow sells that as Fast Track; if the goal is help from staff, the porter, Meet and Assist and VIP listings are the relevant ones. [1] For the checkpoint side, see airport fast track.
How is meet and greet different from lounge access?
Heathrow frames its airport lounges as somewhere to relax before a flight, and its booking block advertises lounges where passengers "relax in comfort and enjoy complimentary drinks". [4] That content sits on a page shared with nearby hotels and hotel-and-parking packages, which include Heathrow Meet & Greet parking as an option. [4]
Heathrow keeps lounges in their own section, separate from the porter, guest services, Meet and Assist and VIP entries on its services page, so a lounge pass and a staffed service are distinct listings. [1] [4] For the lounge side, see the lounge access checklist.
Is meet and greet parking the same thing?
No. The same words also name a parking product at Heathrow. "Meet & Greet" sits among the quick links in the airport's transport and directions section, beside Book Heathrow Parking, Manage parking booking and Parking FAQs, and Heathrow Meet & Greet parking is offered inside its hotel and parking packages. [1] [4]
The staffed services discussed above appear separately as porters, guest services, Meet and Assist and VIP treatment. [1] When a listing uses the phrase, check whether it is selling a person at the terminal or a place to leave the car.
Limits and what is not included
- Security and immigration. Heathrow sells a quicker route through security or passport control as Fast Track, listed separately from its porter, guest services, Meet and Assist and VIP entries. [1]
- Lounge entry. Lounge access is a distinct offer, presented on Heathrow's lounges and hotels page rather than inside the porter, Meet and Assist or VIP listings. [1] [4]
- Special assistance. Airports run their own assistance routes alongside paid services. Heathrow describes a free assistance service for getting the help you need at the airport. [1] Changi Airport keeps special assistance in its own section, with separate guidance for travellers with reduced mobility, invisible disabilities and service animals. [3] See accessible airport connections for that side of the journey.
- Standardisation. The labels are not fixed. Changi's arrival guide carries a Passenger Meeting Services entry, and its facilities directory groups everything under headings such as Assistance, Baggage, Facilities, Lounges and Other Services. [3] Heathrow likewise lists Personal Shopper under its shopping services, separately from its Meet and Assist and assistance entries. [1] Compare listed contents rather than names.
Frequently asked questions
Is meet and assist the same as meet and greet?
The labels overlap without matching exactly. Heathrow lists Meet and Assist among its helpful services and separately offers Heathrow Meet & Greet parking, so one airport can use both phrases for different things. [1] [4]
Does Heathrow offer porter services?
Yes. Porters appear both in Heathrow's list of helpful services and inside its baggage services, alongside bag wrapping, baggage delivery, baggage shipping and baggage storage. [1]
What is included in Heathrow's VIP treatment?
Heathrow describes its VIP service as travelling in style with a chauffeur, private check-in, security and passport control. [1]
Where does Changi Airport list passenger meeting services?
Changi's arrival guide includes a Passenger Meeting Services entry, while the airport's wider facilities directory collects services under headings such as Assistance, Baggage, Facilities, Lounges and Other Services. [3]
Sources
Sources accessed on 18 October 2026. It covers the airport-published service listings of Heathrow Airport and Changi Airport; other airports, independent meet-and-greet operators, airline-provided assistance and lounge membership programmes are not covered here.
- Heathrow Airport, Airport services, checked 18 October 2026
- Changi Airport, Facilities & services directory, checked 18 October 2026
- Heathrow Airport, Lounges and hotels, checked 18 October 2026