Travel Tips

Travel Tip: Find Out Airport Security Wait Times Before You Leave

Locations in this article:  Austin, TX

long lineFew things are more frustrating than arriving at the airport early only to get caught up in the security line. If only you could predict how long that line will be.

Oh wait…now you can.

Austin­-Bergstrom airport uses real­-time data to estimate airport security line wait times. It actually tracks Wi­-Fi devices held by passengers by the checkpoints and analyzes that information.

Sounds a little bit like Big Brother, but hey, it helps you in the long run.

The TSA also has a tracker for airports around the country, based on historical information. What’s cool is that it even shows the wait times for PreCheck lines.

Something called Fly on Time is a work in progress because it collects wait times from users. You can enter the information via an app, a web browser, or Twitter. The more data it gets, the more accurate it can be with wait time predictions.

Ultimately, that means more information for you to plan your arrival time accordingly, without any unpleasant surprises when you get to the airport.

For more information, visit the Airlines & Airports Archives.

Keep reading for more travel tips.