About TSA Line Check
A free tool that tells you how long TSA lines are right now — and exactly when to leave home for your flight.
What it does
TSA Line Check shows real-time and estimated TSA security checkpoint wait times at the 12 busiest airports in the United States. Instead of guessing or relying on the TSA app (which goes offline during government shutdowns), TSA Line Check pulls wait-time data directly from airport-operated dashboards and crowd-sourced traveler reports.
The departure calculator goes further: enter your home address and flight departure time, and the tool calculates your ideal leave-home time by combining live TSA wait data, real-time traffic via Google Maps, and bag-drop time into a single recommended departure window.
Why it was built
During the 2026 DHS budget shutdown, federal TSA data feeds went offline for 75 days. Millions of travelers were left without reliable wait-time data right when they needed it most. TSA Line Check was built to solve that problem: independent of government data sources, with direct integrations to airport-operated APIs that stay online regardless of federal funding status.
The site launched in April 2026 and reached all 12 of the busiest US airports within its first two weeks.
Data sources
| Airport(s) | Source | Type |
|---|---|---|
| ATL (Atlanta) | ATL airport live dashboard | Live — per checkpoint |
| MIA (Miami) | MIA airport live dashboard | Live — per checkpoint |
| DEN (Denver) | DEN airport live dashboard | Live — per checkpoint |
| PHX (Phoenix) | PHX Sky Harbor API | Live — per checkpoint |
| All 12 airports | Traveler crowd reports | User-submitted, timestamped |
| All 12 airports | Historical TSA averages | Fallback when live data unavailable |
| Drive times | Google Maps Directions API | Real-time traffic-aware |
Airports covered
How the departure calculator works
The calculator uses four inputs:
- Your address — geocoded and sent to Google Maps for a real-time traffic-aware drive time to the terminal
- Flight departure time — the scheduled departure, not the boarding time
- Bag drop — whether you're checking luggage (adds 30–45 minutes depending on domestic vs international)
- PreCheck status — reduces security buffer by an average of 13 minutes at major airports
The recommended leave-home time is: drive time + TSA wait + bag drop + gate buffer, subtracted from departure time. The result is your latest comfortable departure time from home.
Privacy
TSA Line Check does not require an account, email address, or any personal information. The departure calculator sends your address to Google Maps for routing only — it is not stored. Crowd reports are submitted anonymously and rate-limited by hashed IP address.
Technical notes
TSA Line Check is a Node.js/Express application deployed on Railway. It is fully open-access, requires no login, and serves all pages with server-rendered HTML for fast load times and search engine indexability. The site automatically detects when federal TSA data feeds are offline and switches to independent airport data sources.
Check your airport now
See live wait times and calculate your departure time.
Go to TSA Line Check →