Jet through airport security checkpoints

The last thing any traveler wants to do is stand in long checkpoint lines. So don’t. Many large airports have extra screening points that, while a little out of the way, more than make up for the inconvenience by being rarely used.

Visit the Transportation Security Administration’s Web site, which publishes security checkpoints at every U.S. airport and makes the average wait times available by the hour at waittime.tsa.dhs.gov.

There you will discover that, for example, the wait time at Newark Airport’s Terminal C, Checkpoint 2 is an average of 11 minutes at 10 a.m. on a Sunday. At Checkpoint 1? Two minutes.

You’ll benefit even more if you know your airport’s layout too. In general, airports shaped like a horseshoe (such as Dallas/Fort Worth International) have multiple screening points.

If the terminals are connected beyond security, you can enter through the least busy line and make your way back to your gate.

Leave a comment to let us know if this technique has worked for you.

airport