Travel Travel Tips

Labor Day Weekend #win: It’s Now Possible to Pre-Check the Length of the Airport Security Line

Kells McPhillips

August 28, 2018

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Photo: Getty Images/Hero Images

The length of the TSA security line at the airport is about as unpredictable as the one for the showers at your most-frequented spin studio. On some travel days, you'll stride right up to the kiosk and hand your ticket over to the agent sans-issue. Other times, you find yourself sprinting to make it to your gate on time because the line to have your personal items checked curiously wraps all the way back to the escalator area.

But if your plans for the fast-approaching Labor Day Weekend include air travel, not to worry: There's one digital solution that will help you be a teensy bit less stressed when you zip up your suitcase and hail a taxi.

Using the MyTSA app, you can get an estimate of just how long of a wait you have ahead of you, thus making it easier to decide whether or not to allot two or four hours to make it in time for takeoff. To try it for yourself, just download the tool to your smartphone, go to the "My Airports" tab, and find your airport, instructs the Thrifty Traveler. (Note that the data won't be updated minute by minute though, so you should still leave a nice, comfortable window between your personal time of arrival and your designated boarding time.)

Using the MyTSA app, you can get an estimate of just how long of a wait you have ahead of you, thus making it easier to decide whether to allot two or four hours to make it on time for takeoff.

Apart from keeping you informed about airport traffic patterns, the app also allows you to check which items are TSA-approved, see weather delays affecting your flight, find out whether your security line supports TSA PreCheck, and it lets you contact TSA in a pinch. So whether you're a Labor Day Weekender or a frequent globe-trotter, this app might just warrant a piece of the hard-earned real estate on the *first* page of apps on your phone.

If your destination is international, here's a digital way to skip the lines at customs. Plus, 35 other ways to make your next roaming experiences way less of a headache.