Nobody enjoys queuing for security screening, but travellers at Salt Lake City International Airport enjoy the shortest wait times at Transportation Security Administration checkpoints, according to a study from Upgraded Points.
On the other hand, security lines tend to be the longest at Newark Liberty International Airport, where travellers take an average of 23.1 minutes to get their bags and bodies screened, compared to just 9.1 minutes in Salt Lake City.
Other airports with quick and efficient security checkpoints include Washington Dulles International Airport, Boston Logan International Airport, Minneapolis St Paul International Airport, and Charlotte Douglas International Airport.
Expect longer waits at George Bush International Airport in Houston, Miami International Airport, Baltimore-Washington International Airport, and McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas, which all fell toward the bottom of the list.
The study looked at security wait times at the 25 busiest airports in the US.
Researchers found that day of the week and time of day played important roles in determining wait times: Salt Lake City passengers can breeze through security in as little as two minutes if they arrive at the airport on a Wednesday night between the hours of 1800 and 1900, for example, whereas Newark travellers can expect to spend a solid hour on line at security if they turn up on a Monday between noon and 1300.
