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Average Airport Security Wait Times

Finding out the average airport security wait time is not as easy as it appears. The Transportation Security Agency used to have this information on its website, but they took it down in 2009. Now they have an app you can use, either on your computer or mobile device, to find out current airport security wait times. The Customs and Border Protection Agency also has a web page that can fetch average security wait times for an airport for a given time period, but the data is incomplete.

Sometimes this information is listed on an airport’s website, and some airport security information is available from news stories on the web. But there is no definitive, one-stop site to navigate in order to find out once and for all what the average security wait time is for any airport.

With that in mind, we have compiled the following table of the 25 busiest U.S. airports along with average TSA security wait times. The information was gleaned from a variety of sources.

While these averages may help you do your “big picture” travel planning, you are advised to keep up with current events that could affect security wait times, and avail yourself of more immediate security information via apps – like the ones listed above – when scheduling your travel days.

The more informed you are about airport security conditions when you fly, the more likely you are to be able to plan accordingly and make the most of your trip. So when you are booking cheap airline tickets, do not forget to check out the airport where you will be departing so you are prepared for navigating its airport security checkpoints.