The partial government shutdown has now hit its 37th day, meaning TSA agents are continuing to go unpaid. Security lines increased significantly at select airports over the past week as the airline industry entered a busy spring break travel season.
I flew out of New York JFK this morning and was very interested to see how the lines were, both for PreCheck and non-PreCheck. While we have seen reports and online posts of ultra-long lines at some airports, we’ve also seen airports with little to no lines. The length of the lines also seems to vary significantly based on the time of day. It’s been hard to predict.
In short, my line this morning (Monday, March 23) with PreCheck and Touchless ID had no line, but other lines were much, much longer. I flew American Airlines out of Terminal 8 at the airport.
Here’s a little of how it was.
Scenes at JFK’s Terminal 8
My flight had a departure time of 10:10 a.m. I planned it so that I’d arrive at around 8 a.m., around two hours before my flight. I typically opt to arrive around 90 minutes before a domestic flight, but since I really didn’t know what to expect getting through TSA following recent reports, I gave myself an extra half hour.
I first arrived and saw a massive line around the check-in area, wrapped around the entire terminal building. I figured this was the standard TSA line, which it was.
This line was extremely long; I had never seen anything like it. I assume it would have taken multiple hours if I had entered this line.
I then found the entrance to TSA PreCheck together with the Oneworld Priority line. I entered here, and the line divided into Oneworld Priority (no PreCheck) and TSA PreCheck (me).
This is also where I began the stopwatch on my iPhone.
Below was the entrance to the Oneworld Priority line, reserved for First, Business, and Oneworld frequent flyers. Obviously much shorter as it doesn’t wrap around the entire terminal like the regular line, but still long. I’d estimate about an hour starting here.
I kept walking to the TSA PreCheck entrance.
Here’s another look at the regular line in the distance. Think of the huge lines wrapping around the terminal in the earlier image, and then this:
(I apologize for some of these blurrier photos – I tried my best documenting while fast walking down these lines)
Like usual, the TSA PreCheck line here split into regular PreCheck and PreCheck with Touchless ID. The Touchless ID lane appeared “closed,” but as is usually the case I deliberately pointed to the Touchless ID symbol on my boarding pass and the agent opened the lane for me.
There was no line for Touchless ID, an incredible difference from the non-TSA PreCheck lines I saw moments prior.
Regular TSA PreCheck with no Touchless ID had a bit of a line, but not long. Maybe an extra 5 to 10 minutes.
Touchless ID allowed me to bypass this, and I went straight to the machine for the photo.
After going through, I joined the rest of PreCheck. From here to getting my bags through the machine was probably the longest part. I’d say I waited 5 minutes or so.
The whole process, from entering the first line to grabbing my bags out of the machine, took 9 minutes. I thanked the TSOs for their work as I went through.
I definitely had a lot of time to spare!
Varying Experiences Based on Location and Time of Day?
Not all TSA experiences around the country are the same. Even within JFK’s Terminal 8, my experience at 8 in the morning was likely very different from that of another passenger going through later in the day.
That said, I do think early morning hours when TSA checkpoints just open can get it worse:
- Checkpoints typically open at around 4 a.m., and passengers with flights at 5 and 6 a.m. enter at once
- With constant updates and reports about the length of TSA lines, a good portion of passengers with 8 and 9 a.m. flights now also show up at 4 and 5 a.m., making already lengthly lines even longer
TSA absence rates also appear to vary highly based on airports. On Sunday, JFK had a call-out rate of 37%, while LaGuardia had a call-out rate of 22%. You can also see other airports below like Atlanta and Houston with higher absence rates, which have seen among some of the worst lines around the country.
I ran up to the departures floor after arriving at Boston Logan Airport’s Terminal B today just to take a look at what TSA was like, and there was no line whatsoever for either the regular line or the PreCheck line.
To put it simply, it’s difficult to predict how long a line will be at an airport at a given time. While some airports (Atlanta, Houston, etc) have consistently seen long lines, other airports have seen little to none. As the shutdown continues for longer, however, the poor airport experience can spread to other airports around the United States.
How to Get TSA PreCheck’s Touchless ID
I use TSA PreCheck’s Touchless ID. Touchless ID is a biometric program utilizing facial recognition to verify identity at TSA checkpoints. This allows me to use a dedicated lane and removes the need to take out and hand an ID and boarding pass to a TSO when going through security. Instead, a photo confirms my identity.
Not all airports have this benefit, but airlines have a published list of participating airports. For example, here’s the list for American Airlines:
Opting in is simple, assuming you already have TSA PreCheck. For AAdvantage members, make sure to have your passport and Known Traveler Number saved, and it’s a simple check of the box.
It can be useful as it eliminates the need to take out an ID and boarding pass at TSA, and it can also come in handy during more extreme events like right now.
All photos taken by the author unless otherwise noted.
