 Since 9-11 traveling for me has been a hit or miss situation. Murphy’s Law, I guess, but it seems that when I am running late I am always faced with an unexpectedly long line at security. When I am early, the lines are short and I wind up spending a considerable amount of time waiting at the gate.
Finally, the Transportation Security Administration has come to my aide. Their new Security Checkpoint Wait Times Web page provides wait times for commercial airports around the country based on the day of the week and the time of day.
You simply choose the airport, the day of the week, and the time of day, and you are presented with a list of average and maximum wait times. If the airport has several terminals and security check points, the wait times for each one are listed. Since this information is historic rather than real time, it doesn’t take into account weather, holidays, or special events. It does, however, give you a good idea of the peak times. It can also be useful if you have a choice of security check points. I checked with this Web site before my last flight out of Raleigh-Durham. I found that the average wait time on Sunday at 7:00 am was 27 minutes at Terminal A. Yet, the line at the Terminal A Annex had an average wait time of 5 minutes. Guess which line I chose?
While this Web site won’t solve all your travel problems, it may help you plan your timing and if you check it out before you book your flight, it may even help you plan your entire trip.
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