These U.S. Airports Have the Longest Wait Times — Plus, the Ones With the Shortest Lines

A new study ranks the average wait times for getting through passport control and security at major U.S. airports.

When traveling through airports, it's best practice to show up early to account for security queues and, when traveling internationally, passport control lines. Now, a new study by luggage storage company Bounce breaks down which U.S. airports have the longest (and shortest) wait times.

The study found that New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) has the longest overall wait times, with an average of 48 minutes and 24 seconds when combining security waits and passport control lines. JFK was followed by San Francisco International Airport (SFO), which had an average overall wait time of 47 minutes and 18 seconds, and Miami International Airport (MIA), with an average wait of 45 minutes and 54 seconds.

“Airport security and passport control play a crucial role in ensuring our safety while we travel, but we can't deny that waiting in line can be frustrating and time-consuming, especially when you're running on a tight schedule,” Bounce wrote in its study. “To help you plan ahead, the team at Bounce has delved into data to reveal which airports in the United States have the longest wait times, and which allow you to sail through security and passport control with ease.”

When it comes to security lines alone, Florida's Palm Beach International Airport (PBI) took the cake with an average of 34 minutes and 6 seconds. (That said, the airport also had the shortest passport control wait times with an average of only 2 minutes and 36 seconds.) On the other end of the spectrum was another Florida airport: Fort Lauderdale–Hollywood International Airport (FLL), which had the longest average passport control wait times of 25 minutes and 54 seconds.

On average, New Jersey's Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR), which also serves the greater New York City area, had the shortest security wait times at only 3 minutes and 6 seconds. EWR was followed by Baltimore/Washington International Airport (BWI), which had an average wait time of only 4 minutes.

Travelers hoping to get through airport lines faster can sign up for a trusted traveler program. This includes the likes of TSA PreCheck, which allows travelers to pass through airport security without having to take off their shoes, belts, or light jackets or having to remove laptops or liquids from their carry-on bags. Or Global Entry, which lets travelers use a separate kiosk to pass through customs.

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