TSA Wait Times Drastically Decrease Over Summer Months
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After the TSA's tumultuous first half of the year, which involved thousands of customers missing their flights due to unacceptably long lines, it seems as if efforts to decrease wait times are working. Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson announced in a press conference last week that between Memorial Day and Labor Day, 98% of passengers waited no longer than 30 minutes to clear security, while 92% waited less than just 15 minutes. Perhaps even more impressive was that at the seven busiest airports in the country, the average wait time was around just 10 minutes.
The news should come as a relief to all travelers, who aren't unfamiliar with the nightmare airport security has become, especially this year.
The improvements come after many months of both TSA and airlines working together in an attempt to speed up the screening process. American, Delta and United each spent $4 million to hire extra workers to collect bins and assist flyers through screening, whereas United began testing automated security lanes at multiple airports.
Although wait times have decreased, you should still consider applying for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck, which will you get you through security much more quickly. Even better is that you can get a credit for the $100 application for Global Entry and $85 application fee for TSA PreCheck through select cards, such as the Chase Sapphire Reserve.
Have you noticed decreased security wait times?
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