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Editorial Disclosure
It’s no secret that TSA wait times across the country have been absolutely wild over the past few weeks.
While I’d normally share many of my usual airport security tips — and I’ve included plenty of them below — I did something a little different this time.
I built a live TSA wait time tracker for many of the country’s biggest airports.
It’s free to use, pulls checkpoint-by-checkpoint data where available, and should hopefully help make your next trip a little easier.
Most of the existing tools on the internet — including the TSA’s own MyTSA app — publish estimated wait times at the airport level. That’s not especially helpful because it doesn’t tell you what’s actually happening at a specific checkpoint right now.
Here’s what you need to know.
Free live TSA wait time tracker
The dashboard is live at https://tsa.fromthetraytable.com/
It currently pulls data from the following 31 airports:
- Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport (BWI)
- Charlotte Douglas International Airport (CLT)
- Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport (CVG)
- Cleveland Hopkins International Airport (CLE)
- Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW)
- Dallas Love Field (DAL)
- Denver International Airport (DEN)
- Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport (DTW)
- Dulles International Airport (IAD)
- Eppley Airfield (OMA)
- George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH)
- Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL)
- Jacksonville International Airport (JAX)
- John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK)
- LaGuardia Airport (LGA)
- Los Angeles International Airport (LAX)
- Miami International Airport (MIA)
- Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport (MSP)
- Nashville International Airport (BNA)
- Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR)
- O’Hare International Airport (ORD)
- Orlando International Airport (MCO)
- Philadelphia International Airport (PHL)
- Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (PHX)
- Pittsburgh International Airport (PIT)
- Portland International Airport (PDX)
- Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA)
- Salt Lake City International Airport (SLC)
- San Francisco International Airport (SFO)
- Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA)
- William P. Hobby Airport (HOU)
On the home page, you’ll find each airport along with the longest reported wait time at the airport.
If you click into an individual airport, you’ll see a checkpoint-by-checkpoint breakdown of wait times, wherever available.
One important disclaimer: All data is pulled directly from each airport. I’m not responsible for the accuracy of the information, and you may sometimes see an airport listed as “unknown” or “not available.”
That’s not an issue with the tracker itself — it simply reflects the status of the airport’s underlying data feed.
Access to the dashboard is free.
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When I posted about the tool on Instagram, I got a ton of questions. I’ve rounded up the most common ones below in a quick FAQ. If you still have questions or feedback, I’m all ears. This is the first time I’ve built a tool like this, so don’t hesitate to reach out. My email is contact@zachgriff.com
And most importantly, please share the tool with your friends and family. This should be something every traveler has access to.
Frequently asked questions
What’s the source of your data?
I’m pulling the feeds directly from each airport. I’m only including airports that publish live security wait time data because I want this to reflect the closest approximation of what the screening experience actually looks like right now.
Can you add Boston, Fort Lauderdale, San Diego, and Las Vegas?
Those are the four most-requested airports, but unfortunately, none currently publish live security wait data. There’s talk of Boston adding support soon, and if that happens, I’ll add it to the dashboard. If you spot an airport that publishes live wait time data and isn’t included, please reach out.
How did you build it?
With the help of AI, of course.
I don’t use AI in my writing, but I have been experimenting with other ways it can streamline my workflow. This felt like the perfect project to test.
How to beat the TSA lines
Of course, the wait time tracker can only help so much. I can’t stress this enough: Make sure you have TSA PreCheck and opt in to Touchless ID with every airline you fly.
Touchless ID remains one of the fastest and most reliable ways to skip the lines. It’s free to use, and all you need to do is add your Trusted Traveler number and passport information to your frequent flyer profile.
The key is to do this with every airline you fly.
Another helpful tip: enroll in Clear. In my recent travels, it has been hit-or-miss in terms of saving more time than Touchless ID, but with lines this bad, it can still be worth considering as an insurance policy.
And finally, pack your patience. It’s rough out there for everyone, including TSA officers, many of whom are missing paychecks.
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Solid! Thank You!
Any chance you will be putting this out as an app?
Asked on ur Twitter thread as well
Chats!
Any chance you will be putting this out as an app?
Asked on ur Twitter thread as well
Chats!
Tracker might be showing hallucinating data for JFK – they, like LGA, paused the wait time data on their site but the tracker is showing wait time data
I got the data pulling in from the backend — enjoy
This live TSA wait time tracker is a game-changer for frequent travelers—especially during peak periods when lines can be unpredictable. I appreciate how you’ve made it accessible and free, which really aligns with the frustration many of us feel when trying to plan around TSA delays. It’s a practical solution that adds real value to the airport experience.
You should keep track of data points, to see any effect from the ICE deployment.
This is awesome. If I could put in a feature request – It’d be super cool to be able to see historical wait times, and plot them over time.
Working on that!
So the jfk times are realistic? I heard terminal 5 is 2 hours but this is showing only around 40 min? What do you mean that it’s on the backend? Even though they are not publishing wait times — how are you accessing these. This is great btw!
Directly from JFK feeds
So is this data legit? I heard jfk wasn’t posting live data? What do you mean by backend?
JFK feed is back up and running
Zach, why are more airports now pausing/ceasing/pulling TSA wait time data? I’m especially interested in BWI.
Because their feeds are underestimating the true waits