Shortcuts through the checkpoints at American airports
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Long lines at airport security checkpoints are no surprise, but not all lines are created equal. Conor Dougherty in the Wall Street Journal (subscription required) points to some excellent shortcuts and counterintuitive strategies for getting through security faster.
The common theme is to find security checkpoints that are not located immediately behind the check-in counters, or that are closer to the smaller carriers’ counters. This will only work if the secure areas are connected: An airport like Newark, where each pier has its own security checkpoints, doesn’t have secret shortcuts. (Though there may be bus service past security, connecting the gates, now that I think of it… hmm…)
The tips are worth quoting at length:
Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport
TIP: Get to the edges
Dallas is one of the most connected airports. Once flyers pass through security, they can travel to any terminal on the airport’s train (it comes every two minutes in each direction). DFW also has several security checkpoints at each of its crescent-shaped terminals. The speedy lines, we found, are typically at the ends of each terminal.
Take Terminal A, which has American flights. The fastest checkpoint is on the northernmost point of the terminal, just in front of gate A12 (average wait time of two minutes, compared with around 10 minutes for the others).
San Francisco International Airport
TIP: Get driver to drop you off at first point
Take Terminal 3. Travelers can access any gate from the terminal’s four security stations. American passengers are typically sent to one checkpoint and United passengers to the others — and you may not get turned away if you show up at the station typically used by the other airline.
Chicago O’Hare International Airport
TIP: Security stations with fewer magnetic gates often have faster lines
O’Hare International is the country’s second-busiest passenger airport and a hub for airlines, including United and American, which together account for about 80% of O’Hare’s traffic. It also has some of the most inconsistent security lines — so there’s often just a few dozen yards between a long wait and none at all.
The first checkpoint in Terminal 1 — the northernmost in the terminal and just before gate B9 — has eight magnetometers and an average wait of eight minutes on Friday at 4 p.m., and a maximum wait of 18 minutes. But resourceful flyers head to the southern end of Terminal 1. There, a checkpoint with two magnetometers,and a wait of two minutes, deposits travelers into a wide corridor leading to Terminal 2. But hang a hard right — down a dark and narrow hallway — and you’re on the secure side of Terminal 1.
Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport
TIP: Get to the people-movers
Phoenix is one of the country’s faster airports, with an average wait time under 10 minutes, according to the TSA. And it could get better: The airport added 10 security lanes in 2005. Terminal 4, which houses the recently merged America West and U.S. Airways, is the airport’s largest, handling about three- quarters of the traffic. It also has the most security options.
Any one of the four security checkpoints of Terminal 4 will give travelers access to their planes. But according to TSA data, the lines leading to “B” and “D” gates tend to be the shortest. (Inside the rectangular terminal, a network of moving walkways shuttle passengers quickly from gate to gate.) Unfortunately, this won’t work at other terminals — each gate area is served by a single checkpoint, and passengers can’t move between areas once they’re through security.
Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport
TIP: Avoid checkpoints near Northwest gates
Minneapolis-St. Paul, a big Northwest Airlines hub, has two terminals — one big and one small. The smaller Humphrey Terminal has just one route through security, but waits tend to be shorter because the terminal isn’t often busy. But the larger Lindbergh Terminal, where all of those Northwest (as well as United and American) customers go, has several security entry points.
The trick: Avoid the security gates near the Northwest ticket counters — even if you’re flying NWA. The two southernmost checks in the area leading to the “F” gates can have waits of around 20 minutes on an average Monday morning, while the one next to them is about 30% shorter. In any case, there are six checkpoints in a row, and flyers can slip through any one.
I’m sure there are others. At Detroit, you can cut through the Westin hotel, which has its own security checkpoint, for example.
Of course, now that they’ve pointed these secrets out (and I’ve repeated them…), they might not be as secret much longer…
Any other shortcuts out there? Comments are open, as always.
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April 18th, 2006 at 12:17 pm |
Another shortcut at O’Hare is in Terminal 1. In the lower level right below the shortcut mentioned in the article is a security checkpoint for employees and any flyer who knows about it. It is in the baggage claim area right below the security checkpoint leading to Terminal 2.
September 18th, 2006 at 11:41 am |
DCA/Washington National
If flying Delta with carry-on only, cross the bridge from the parking garage, and you’ll find four self-service kiosks far away from any crowds. Check in, turn left down the escalator, and you’ll be just a few steps from security.
November 21st, 2006 at 12:46 pm |
[…] 7. Not all security lines are equally busy. Some airports have less-popular security lines, either in an adjacent (but connected) terminal, or at the far end of a terminal building. A few of these “shortcuts” are listed here. They can shave a few minutes off your airport hassle. […]
November 21st, 2006 at 3:15 pm |
In Denver’s DIA, stay on the upper level, go north, and take the walking bridge to terminal A. The security checkpoint on the bridge is always short and if your flight is in terminal B or C you can catch the tram there from terminal A. Plus there are usually interesting art displays on the bridge and it’s a nice leg-stretching walk.
November 21st, 2006 at 3:18 pm |
An update from my previous comment: The security line in the baggage claim area of terminal 1 is closed or, as they say, “permanently closed.”
November 22nd, 2006 at 9:01 am |
at ORD if you are flying American, the lines can be very long. But if you go to the Delta area, the lines are much shorter.
April 15th, 2007 at 9:06 am |
[…] my boarding pass as usual, but “SSSS†was printed in the bottom right corner. I walked to the shortest security line in Terminal 1 at O’Hare and mentally prepared for the pat-down. After a few moments in a small […]
December 18th, 2007 at 12:28 pm |
At LAX (domestic terminals) if you shoot up the elevator (like people with a stroller) you avoid the long security line. You might have to limp
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December 19th, 2007 at 12:26 pm |
At ATL, head to the North Terminal and go to the American Airlines ticket counter to find another security gate to the T-Concourse. If AA does not have a couple of flights leaving in the next hour or two, this is often an empty gate.
If you are Gold/Platinum Medallion DL(or other airlines I guess), First/Business Class, Airline Club member, or military you can use the preferred entrance to the main security. It is often very long on the South side because of all of the Delta people but the North side is usually very short because there are very few elite Continental, AA, or United flyers originating out of ATL compared to the Delta flyers on the South side. The trick is that anyone meeting the restrictions for the special security line can use the line on either side of security so go for the North side which is usually shorter. Of course, sometimes the special line is slower than the general line so take a peek at the general line as well.