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How to Combat the Upcoming 3 HOUR Wait in the TSA Lines.

You do not want to miss your flight! Here’s what you need to know so you are not stranded at the airport.

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This is what the TSA line looked like at Cleveland Hopkins (C checkpoint) at about 5 a.m. on Thursday, May 12.
CLEVELAND, Ohio – I arrived at Cleveland Hopkins at 4:50 a.m., 88 minutes ahead of my 6:18 a.m. flight to New York City.

I looked at the security lines, snaking through the ticketing area, and I panicked.

Did I get here early enough? What if I miss my flight?

As it turns out, I needn’t have worried. I timed myself in line: It took exactly 42 minutes from the moment I stepped into the queue until I was putting my shoes back on.

Tips for dealing with TSA delays

Arrive early: Officials at Cleveland Hopkins recommend that travelers arrive at the airport two hours before their flight. (And if you think that’s bad, consider that travelers in Atlanta and Chicago are being advised to arrive three hours ahead of departure.) Keep in mind that the TSA line is just one factor in your wait – you may have to wait to check a bag, too.

Most airlines require that you get to the gate 15 minutes before departure, or you risk not boarding (airlines are, however, occasionally holding flights for delayed passengers – but you can’t count on that).Check your bag: U.S. Sens. Edward Markey and Richard Blumenthal are calling on the airlines to suspend checked-bag fees, which would cut down on the number of carry-on bags being screened through security checkpoints – thereby speeding up the security process.Avoid traveling in the morning: The morning rush hour – roughly 5 a.m. through 10 a.m. – is by far the busiest time for TSA in Cleveland. If you can, avoid it.Download the wait-time app: The TSA maintains a smartphone app that estimates line wait times based on real-time traveler reports. One problem: The longest allowable time to input is 31 minutes, a time that is being exceeded across the nation.Apply for TSA PreCheck: Get approved for expedited screening through the TSA PreCheck program. PreCheck travelers get their own security line – which is usually much shorter. It costs $85 for a five-year pass. For information: tsa.gov./tsa-precheck.

I even had time to grab a cup of coffee before boarding.

Many fellow travelers have not been as lucky. Among them:

* My colleague, Plain Dealer theater critic Andrea Simakis, who missed her Frontier Airlines flight three weeks ago to Fort Myers, Florida, because she was stuck in a long line. She ended up flying to Orlando, instead, renting a car and driving to Southwest Florida – which cost her time and money. (Making matters worse: She was told that Frontier was holding the flight, which turned out not to be true.)

* Six other passengers also missed that same flight – ever the journalist, she jotted down their names. Among them: Local salon owner Frank Alvarez, who got rebooked on the same Frontier flight the next day. He stayed overnight at an airport hotel in part to make sure he didn’t miss his newly booked flight.

* Michael Sutila, a former Clevelander who came home to see his mom over Mother’s Day, and missed his Southwest Airlines flight back to Providence, Rhode Island, because he was stuck in a long TSA line. What really set him off? When an unsympathetic TSA agent said to him, “Your time management is not my problem.”

Well, actually, Mr. TSA Agent, it is your problem – even your boss admits it.

Indeed, the problems in Cleveland are emblematic of a much bigger issue playing out across the country: understaffing by the Transportation Security Administration caused by budget reductions and some unrealistic expectations of how many people would enroll in the TSA PreCheck program, an expedited security process for prescreened travelers (it may be worth your $85; find more information at tsa.gov/tsa-precheck).

 

Read More:Cleveland.com

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