Security screening at Los Angeles International Airport on Friday, March 27, 2026.
Myung J. Chun | Los Angeles Times | Getty Images
Travelers continue facing long lines at airports across the U.S. as a partial government shutdown drags on.
TSA wait time by airportTSA PreCheck vs. regular security lines
TSA PreCheck is a program that allows its 20 million pre-screened members to pass through airport security faster than at standard lanes.
During normal security operations, the agency estimates that roughly 99% of passengers with PreCheck wait less than 10 minutes.
What time should you get to the airport?
TSA usually advises travelers to arrive at the airport two hours early for domestic flights and three hours before international flights.
With the government shutdown, the agency urges passengers to contact their airlines and to plan extra time for security.
About this data
CNBC relies on publicly reported wait times by the individual airports. Some airports publish wait times sporadically, and some don’t at all. Wait times may change quickly due to traveler volume, staffing, weather, and operational delays.
Methodology
CNBC’s TSA wait time tracker checks published reports from the 50 busiest airports in the U.S. every 30 minutes. If airports post different wait times for different terminals, then the longest is displayed.
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