IT’S NO SECRET that airport security can be quite a pain with all of the many rules to follow. And even if you’re a frequent flier, that doesn’t mean everyone around you at the airport is, meaning you might be stuck at the mercy of your fellow passengers. Some airports, however, are worse than others.
Bounce, a company specializing in luggage storage, conducted some research to find the airports with the best, and worst, wait times to get through security in the United States (the study, however, doesn’t cover the wait lines for tickets, navigating the terminal, and dropping off and picking up luggage).
Photo: Bounce
The 10 US airports with the longest wait times at security
Miami International, Florida: 46 minutes, 57 seconds
Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood, Florida: 46 minutes, 41 seconds
San Fransisco International, California: 45 minutes, 56 seconds
John F. Kennedy International, New York: 44 minutes, 54 seconds
O’Hare International, Illinois: 39 minutes, 26 seconds
St. Louis Lambert International, Missouri: 39 minutes, 17 seconds
Palm Beach International, Florida: 38 minutes, 42 seconds
Oakland International, California: 37 minutes, 22 seconds
Fresno/Yosemite International, California: 37 minutes, 15 minutes
San Diego International, California: 35 minutes, 22 seconds
The 10 US airports with the shortest wait times at security
Raleigh-Durham International, North Carolina: 16 minutes, nine seconds
Baltimore/Washington International, Maryland: 19 minutes, 14 seconds
Charlotte Douglas International, South Carolina: 19 minutes, 15 seconds
Newark Liberty International, New Jersey: 19 minutes, 46 seconds
Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International, Kentucky: 19 minutes, 50 seconds
Detroit Metropolitan Airport, Michigan: 20 minutes, 24 seconds
Phoenix Sky Harbor International, Arizona: 22 minutes, 34 seconds
San Antonio International, Texas: 22 minutes, 36 seconds
Austin-Bergstrom International, Texas: 23 minutes, six seconds
Sacramento International, California: 24 minutes, nine seconds
The data for airport security checks were sourced from TSA Wait Times, while average wait times for passport clearance were sourced from US Customs and Border Protection’s Airport Wait Times data.
There are some tips and tricks to getting through airport security faster, the first being investing in a service like CLEAR, which bumps you to the front of the line, or Global Entry or TSA PreCheck. If, for whatever reason, that isn’t an option, be sure to be fully prepared to take everything off, wear slip-on shoes, and opt for digital tickets.