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IAH security wait times among longest for big airports; on-time rates close to average


By Brianna Kelly and Olivia Pulsinelli – Houston Business Journal
Sep 1, 2023

Attention, Labor Day travelers: Houston's George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH) has one of the longest average security wait times among the busiest airports in the U.S., according to a recent study by travel company PlanetWare.

With an average wait time of 17.1 minutes, IAH tied with Tampa International Airport in Florida for the No. 4 spot among busiest airports.

These are the top five busiest airports with the longest average wait times:

No. 1: Daniel K. Inouye International Airport (Honolulu) – average wait time of 20.5 minutes
No. 2: Chicago O'Hare International Airport – average wait time of 19.5 minutes
No. 3: Chicago Midway International Airport – average wait time of 18.4 minutes
No. 4 (tied): Tampa International Airport – average wait time of 17.1 minutes
No. 4 (tied): George Bush Intercontinental Airport (Houston) – average wait time of 17.1 minutes

Here are the top five busiest airports with the shortest average wait times:

No. 1: Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport – average wait time of 5.1 minutes
No. 2: Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport – average wait time of 7.1 minutes
No. 3: Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport – average wait time of 7.8 minutes
No. 4: Philadelphia International Airport – average wait time of 9.2 minutes
No. 5: Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport – average wait time of 10 minutes

PlanetWare analyzed average wait times at more than 170 U.S. airports using data from iFly.com, which monitors flight volumes and when TSA is staffed at certain capacities to determine the estimated wait time by hour.

When considering all of the airports in the sample, including smaller airports with much shorter average wait times, IAH comes in at No. 19, while Houston's William P. Hobby Airport (HOU) takes the No. 33 spot with an average wait time of 13.6 minutes.

Overall, Texas ties with Oklahoma for No. 10 among states with the longest average wait times: 11.7 minutes. That's higher than the average of 10 minutes for all 171 airports analyzed.