About SecurityWait
What Is SecurityWait?
SecurityWait provides real-time and estimated TSA security wait times at 120+ US airports. We combine live data feeds, historical traffic patterns, and airport operational intelligence to help travelers plan departure times strategically and avoid unnecessary security lines.
Whether you're flying domestically or internationally, traveling during peak holiday seasons or quiet Tuesday afternoons, SecurityWait shows you what to expect at airport security. Our estimates account for checkpoint-specific factors, PreCheck vs. standard lane performance, and seasonal variations that affect screening queues across the country.
Our Mission
Travel decisions shouldn't be made blindly. Thousands of passengers arrive at US airports daily without knowing whether security lines are 10 minutes or 60 minutes. This uncertainty creates stress, missed flights, and poor planning choices.
SecurityWait exists to eliminate that uncertainty. By providing travelers with accurate wait time information before they leave home, we help you:
- Plan arrivals strategically based on real queue conditions
- Choose optimal travel times that avoid peak congestion
- Evaluate whether TSA PreCheck or CLEAR membership makes sense for your travel patterns
- Understand checkpoint-specific variations at multi-terminal airports
- Make data-driven decisions about departure timing
How Our Wait Time Estimates Work
Data Sources
SecurityWait integrates multiple authoritative data streams to generate wait time estimates:
- TSA Real-Time Data: We receive live feed data from TSA's official operations at participating airports. This data includes current queue lengths, active checkpoint lanes, and resource allocation at each checkpoint.
- Historical Traffic Analysis: We maintain 18+ months of wait time data at each of our 120+ airports. This historical record reveals patterns: Monday mornings are consistently busier than Tuesday mornings; Friday afternoons spike; Sunday evenings see surge traffic; holiday weeks follow predictable congestion curves.
- Flight Schedule Integration: We correlate wait times with flight departure schedules. Periods with high flight volumes typically produce longer queues 45-90 minutes before departure windows.
- Seasonal and Holiday Modeling: Thanksgiving, Christmas, Spring Break, and summer vacation periods follow consistent patterns. We apply seasonal multipliers to our baseline estimates during known high-travel periods.
- Crowdsourced Reports: Travelers at airports can submit wait time observations. These reports validate our algorithmic estimates and catch unexpected conditions or emergency procedures that historical data alone wouldn't predict.
Estimation Methodology
Our wait time algorithm combines these factors in a weighted formula:
- Current conditions (40% weight): Real-time queue depth and checkpoint staffing
- Historical baseline (30% weight): What this specific day and time typically sees at this airport
- Scheduled flights (15% weight): How many passengers are departing in the next 1-2 hours
- Seasonal adjustment (10% weight): Holiday or summer adjustments that shift all times higher
- Crowdsourced validation (5% weight): Recent traveler reports that confirm or refute algorithmic estimates
This multi-factor approach prevents us from over-weighting a single data source. If real-time data shows unusual spikes, we check historical context to determine whether it's a genuine surge or a temporary anomaly. If it's a surge, our historical data tells us whether similar surges typically last 15 minutes or 90 minutes.
Accuracy Target: Our estimates aim for accuracy within ±5 minutes for 85% of observations, and within ±10 minutes for 95% of observations. We regularly audit our estimates against actual reported wait times to maintain and improve accuracy.
Coverage: 120+ US Airports
SecurityWait provides estimates for all major US airports handling more than 2 million annual passengers, plus most airports serving 1-2 million passengers. This covers approximately 95% of all US commercial air traffic.
Our focus includes:
- Mega-hubs: ATL, DFW, LAX, ORD, DEN (handle 80+ million passengers annually combined)
- Major hubs: JFK, SFO, SEA, MIA, MSP, IAH, BOS, and 30+ others
- Regional airports: Secondary cities serving millions of passengers annually
- Specialty tracking: PreCheck and CLEAR lane-specific estimates where available
Accuracy and Limitations
What We Measure Accurately
Our estimates perform well for:
- Typical weekday and weekend conditions at major airports
- Seasonal patterns during established high-travel periods
- Checkpoint-specific variations at multi-terminal airports
- PreCheck vs. standard lane time differentials
- Reasonable 30-60 minute forward projections
Inherent Limitations
Certain variables fall beyond our control or data visibility:
- Security incidents: TSA occasionally implements enhanced screening procedures due to intelligence. We can't predict these in advance, though we capture them in real-time data once implemented.
- Weather delays: Severe weather can reduce flight volumes, changing passenger timing. We don't integrate weather forecasting directly.
- Equipment failures: X-ray machine breakdowns or staffing emergencies can spike wait times. We capture these in real-time but can't predict them.
- Unusual events: Protests, medical emergencies, or other anomalies don't appear in historical patterns and may not be visible in our data feeds immediately.
- Holiday-specific surges: Some holidays (Presidents Day, Thanksgiving Tuesday before) create travel patterns outside normal historical ranges.
For these reasons, our estimates represent the most likely scenario based on available data, not guaranteed outcomes. We recommend checking estimates 30-45 minutes before departure to catch any unexpected changes.
Data Privacy and Security
SecurityWait does not collect personal travel information. We do not require accounts, login credentials, or any personally identifying data to use our service. When you check wait times:
- You remain anonymous
- We don't track your individual searches or travel patterns
- Crowdsourced reports can be submitted anonymously
- No cookies store your airport preferences or search history
We comply with applicable data protection regulations including CCPA, GDPR, and similar frameworks. See our Privacy Policy for complete details.
About CMBMV LLC
SecurityWait is published by CMBMV LLC, a California limited liability company. We operate a portfolio of specialized information websites serving travelers, workers, and financial decision-makers across industries including transportation, finance, healthcare, and employment law.
Our team combines expertise in data engineering, aviation industry operations, and consumer travel research. We've invested in integrating authoritative data sources and building algorithms that serve travelers reliably across 120+ airports and millions of monthly searches.
Company Details
- Entity: CMBMV LLC, California
- Service Launch: 2026
- Contact: hello@insolveo.com
- Website: securitywait.com
- Data Centers: US-based infrastructure hosted on Cloudflare
Not Affiliated With TSA or Government
SecurityWait is an independent information service operated by CMBMV LLC. We are not affiliated with the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), or any government agency. We are not an official TSA service, and our wait time estimates are independent predictions based on available data, not official TSA figures.
For official information about TSA security procedures, PreCheck eligibility, or other government services, please visit tsa.gov directly.
Continuous Improvement
SecurityWait's accuracy depends on ongoing data validation and algorithmic refinement. We:
- Audit our estimates monthly against reported actual wait times
- Adjust seasonal models based on emerging travel patterns
- Integrate new airport partnerships as they become available
- Expand coverage to additional airports as demand grows
- Incorporate traveler feedback to refine checkpoints and lane-specific estimates
Questions or Feedback?
SecurityWait exists to serve travelers. If you have questions about our methodology, encounter inaccurate estimates, or want to suggest additional airports or features, we'd like to hear from you. Visit our Contact page to reach our team.