Transit BarometerNorth American travel & border data

EVERY AIRPORT VERIFIED BY HAND · JULY 26, 2026

TSA wait times — the real sources.

17 of 20 major US airports publish an official live security wait-time feed. Two — Chicago Midway and Milwaukee Mitchell — publish none at all. The TSA itself retired its public API and publishes no live feed for any airport. This page routes you to the only real numbers: the airports' own.

The honest truth about "live TSA wait times." The TSA shut down its public wait-time API years ago and publishes no live checkpoint feed for any airport. Every website showing "live" TSA waits for hundreds of airports is showing you a model or a guess. The only real live numbers come from the airports themselves — so we verified all 20 major airports by hand (July 26, 2026) and link you straight to the official source. 17 of 20 publish a live feed; Chicago Midway and Milwaukee Mitchell publish none.

All 20 airports, verified

CodeAirportOfficial live feed?Source
ATLHartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport✅ YesOfficial source ↗
BNANashville International Airport✅ Yes — verifiedOfficial source ↗
BWIBaltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport✅ Yes — verifiedOfficial source ↗
CLECleveland Hopkins International Airport✅ YesOfficial source ↗
CMHJohn Glenn Columbus International Airport✅ YesOfficial source ↗
CVGCincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport✅ YesOfficial source ↗
DENDenver International Airport✅ YesOfficial source ↗
DTWDetroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport✅ YesOfficial source ↗
EWRNewark Liberty International Airport✅ YesOfficial source ↗
HOUWilliam P. Hobby Airport✅ YesOfficial source ↗
JAXJacksonville International Airport✅ Yes — verifiedOfficial source ↗
LGALaGuardia Airport✅ YesOfficial source ↗
MCOOrlando International Airport✅ YesOfficial source ↗
MDWChicago Midway International Airport❌ NoOfficial source ↗
MKEMilwaukee Mitchell International Airport❌ NoOfficial source ↗
PDXPortland International Airport✅ Yes — verifiedOfficial source ↗
PHXPhoenix Sky Harbor International Airport✅ YesOfficial source ↗
PITPittsburgh International Airport✅ YesOfficial source ↗
RSWSouthwest Florida International Airport—Official source ↗
SFOSan Francisco International Airport✅ YesOfficial source ↗

📊 Cite this finding — free with attribution

Source: Transit Barometer — hand verification of official airport security wait-time feeds at 20 major US airports (July 26, 2026): 17 publish live feeds; Chicago Midway (MDW) and Milwaukee Mitchell (MKE) publish none. https://transitbarometer.com/tsa-wait-times/
PRESS KIT

How early should you get to the airport?

The standing rule — stated officially by Orlando and Detroit among others — is 2 hours before a domestic flight, 3 hours before international. Airports with PreCheck lanes move materially faster, but PreCheck lanes have hours: at Jacksonville, for example, the PreCheck lane closes around 7 PM. Check your airport's page above for its live number before you leave.