How to Get an Uber at Airports That Don’t Allow Pickup

It’s long been known that certain airports have restrictions on whether Uber drivers can pickup passengers. The biggest airports for these restrictions include Dallas/Ft. Worth and Seattle/Tacoma, however there are plenty of others as well.

Interestingly, I learned a tactic from a Minneapolis Uber driver that I find both very useful, yet sneaky at the same time. Minneapolis/St. Paul is one of the major US airports that don’t allow UberX pickup, but instead only Uber SUV or Black Car pickups, where all of those drivers are certified limo drivers. Since UberX is the cheapest option, being forced to take an SUV or Black Car can cost you many dollars more, adding to your travel costs.

Here’s the tactic to getting an Uber drive to pick you up at an airport where they don’t allow it. Keep in mind that I don’t condone this technique, nor encourage you to try it, for risk of both yourself and your Uber driver’s job. They won’t be covered under Uber’s insurance policies, and there’s a huge risk to do this.

You’ll notice as I hover over the DFW airport, I’m only offered a Black Car or SUV, as expected.

Let’s change things just a little bit. What if I move my pin just off of the airport grounds?

Ah! Now, I have options for both an UberX, UberSELECt and UberBLACK. So, what’s the tactic here? Well, if you move the pin just off of the map, you’re able to request an UberX. If you request one, and call the driver to inform them you’re inside the airport, they may or may not be willing to come inside to pick you up. Keep in mind, some airports have police and other enforcement to keep these driver’s out and from doing this, though other airports are less monitored. While the Uber map naturally prevents anyone from naturally selecting an UberX driver at the airport, simply by moving the pin off of the map and calling the driver to ask for them to meet you at baggage claim appears to be a workaround for some, according to the driver I spoke with in Minneapolis.

I haven’t tried this, and really never intend on trying it either, as I think it’s both shady for me as a passenger and for the Uber driver, God forbid something bad were to happen. That said, apparently this is a common technique that I wasn’t aware of, and it’s done more often than not.

Have you ever done this trick before to get an Uber to pick you up at an airport where they don’t allow it?