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Transportation Security Administration staffing shortages have turned airport security checkpoints around the country into slow-moving nightmares — but there are still ways to catch your flight.
Checking live wait times and using special programs intended to let passengers bypass the lines are key hacks, even with the delays which have plagued American airports since Feb. 14, when federal funding for the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees the TSA, ran out.
Wait times for security checkpoints are posted on the TSA’s MyTSA app, but travel experts warn the data may be outdated during the shutdown, the Washington Post reported.
Passengers wait in the TSA security check lines at Newark Liberty International Airport in N.J., hoping to make it to their flights on time. Luiz C. Ribeiro for NY Post“Do not trust the TSA wait times right now, because the apps and websites are not updated regularly,” said Clint Henderson, a managing editor at the online travel website the Points Guy.
Instead, check the real-time data on the airport’s website or app to get to the correct info, experts said.
Other travel hacks to help beat the wait include:
Travelers are being checked in by TSA agents at JFK Airport in NYC. Luiz C. Ribeiro for NY Post- Finding another checkpoint with a shorter line. Passengers aren’t obligated to use the one closest to their gates.
- Use TSA PreCheck Touchless ID, a program that allows those who are enrolled to stop a moment for a face scan, then keep going toward X-ray machines. The downside? It’s only available from some airlines, including Alaska, American, Delta, Southwest and United.
- Another option is to join the $209 a year Clear+, the biometric security program that operates in 60 airports and lets travelers to jump to the front of the line and bypass the government’s ID-check step.
- The CLEAR APP also launched a “Know When to Leave” tool.
Meanwhile, passengers waiting for things to return to normal are at the mercy of federal politics
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