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The next 3 months will undoubtedly be the busiest times for air travel this year. Fueled by 2 years of lock-downs, people have been deprived of vacations.
Now is the time for them to get out into the world and make up for all those missed flights and destinations.
With kids being out of school and a lot of parents able to take their vacation, this summer is looking like one for the books. Airlines are selling flights at pre-pandemic levels, and airports and airlines are having trouble with the unprecedented demand for air travel.
From understaffed airlines to hour long security lines at airports, the truth of the matter is that air travel this summer will be nothing short of chaotic over the next few months.
There are however ways to mitigate long wait times and one of the best ways to do that is by avoiding airports with the longest wait times because let’s face it; not every airport is the same.
Frequent domestic flyers know that no two airports are ever alike, and we all have that one airport that we dread flying into or out of.
Some airports aren’t just inconvenient or more expensive to fly out of, some actually require longer security wait times.
This means that if you want to make your travels easier this summer, you’ll be wise to avoid these 5 airports with the longest TSA wait times.
Bounce analyzed data from the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and the US Customs and Border Protection. To determine the average wait time at each airport, the company totaled the wait times at security and passport control.
Be aware that the list does not include time spent collecting luggage or traveling through terminals, passengers should therefore anticipate even longer wait times.
The US airports with the longest wait times
5. O'Hare International Airport (Chicago, Illinois)
Total wait time: 39 minutes, 26 seconds
Average security wait time: 19 minutes, 18 seconds
Average passport control wait time: 20 minutes, 8 seconds
O'Hare International Airport is the world's fourth-busiest airport, serving around 54 million passengers in 2021.
4. John F. Kennedy International Airport (New York, New York)
Total wait time: 45 minutes, 54 seconds
Average security wait time: 25 minutes
Average passport control wait time: 19 minutes, 54 seconds
John F. Kennedy International Airport is the busiest airport in New York, serving 30.7 million passengers in 2021.
3. San Francisco International Airport (San Francisco, California)
Total wait time: 45 minutes, 56 seconds
Average security wait time: 27 minutes, 48 seconds
Average passport control wait time: 18 minutes, 8 seconds
San Francisco International Airport is one of the busiest airports in the US, serving over 24 million passengers in 2021.
2. Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport (Fort Lauderdale, Florida)
Total wait time: 46 minutes, 41 seconds
Average security wait time: 18 minutes, 18 seconds
Average passport control wait time: 28 minutes, 23 seconds
Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport is one of three airports in the greater Miami area. More than 28 million passengers traveled through the airport in 2021.
1. Miami International Airport (Miami, Florida)
Total wait time: 46 minutes 57 seconds
Average security wait time: 24 minutes, 54 seconds
Average passport control wait time: 22 minutes, 3 seconds
Miami International Airport is Florida's second-busiest airport. It served over 37 million passengers in 2021.
The airport has an online security checkpoint portal that states the expected wait time.
If you want to minimize travel troubles for this summer, be sure to avoid these 5 airports above, and if you can’t avoid them be sure to give yourself plenty of time between connecting flights and departures.
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This article originally appeared on TravelOffPath.com
Opinions expressed here are the author’s alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, hotel, airline, or other entity. This content has not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of the entities included within the post.
P
Monday 6th of June 2022
These measurements make no sense. TSA provides security checks when entering airside from landside. They have nothing to do with passports.
CBP checks passports for incoming international flights.
There are no passport controls for boarding a flight in the US.
The only time a traveler would interact with both these agencies would be landing from an international flight and then transferring to another flight.