Wait Times
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Security wait times at PHL

Live checkpoint waits, what's expected next, and when it's usually busiest.

Live, updated 10:37 PM ET

Wait time history

PHL · All terminals · Standard lane · last 12 hours · times in ET

When is it busiest?

Typical waits by day and hour, last 28 days · PHL · busiest checkpoint each hour — Standard lane · times in ET

Lined up with the chart above — the last 12 hours, then the next 12. The marked line marks now.

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Which terminal am I flying from?

Pick your airline and the page follows it.

Every checkpoint, right now

Tap a terminal to point the chart above at it.

PHLPhiladelphia International

Longest standard wait 3 minutes
3min
longest wait
StdStandardPrePreCheck
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Philadelphia International security wait times: what to expect

From September 12 to October 10 we logged 587,288 security checkpoint readings at Philadelphia International. The standard lane averaged 5 minutes, and TSA PreCheck averaged 2 minutes. 89% of standard-lane readings were 10 minutes or less, and none were over half an hour.

When the line is longest

The standard line at Philadelphia is longest around 2 PM, when it has averaged 8 minutes, and shortest around 1 AM, at 3 minutes. By day of the week, Friday has been the heaviest (6 minutes on average) and Saturday the lightest (4 minutes).

Time of dayStandardPreCheck
Early morning (4–8 AM)6 min2 min
Morning (8 AM–noon)5 min2 min
Midday (noon–4 PM)7 min2 min
Evening (4–8 PM)

TSA wait times come from airport data feeds, sampled every 60 seconds. Immigration figures come from U.S. Customs and Border Protection arrival records. All waits are estimates — leave yourself a margin.

The full history behind these numbers is published as a free open dataset — download it here.

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6 min
2 min
Night (8 PM–4 AM)3 min2 min

Average wait across the last 28 days. A dash means the lane is usually closed then.

Is PreCheck worth it at Philadelphia?

Over the same period PreCheck saved 3 minutes on average compared with the standard lane, and 6 minutes at the 2 PM peak. Standard-lane waits are usually short here, so the gain is largest at peak times.

Terminal by terminal

Terminal C has had the shortest standard line (3 minutes on average) and Terminal A-East the longest (7 minutes). Security is separate in each terminal, so the one that matters is the one your airline uses.

TerminalStandard avgPreCheck avgBusiest hourAirlines
Terminal A-West5 min—3 PM—
Terminal A-East7 min2 min2 PM2
Terminal B7 min—7 AM1
Terminal C3 min—7 AM2
Terminal D/E6 min2 min4 AM7
Terminal F3 min—7 AM2

Common questions

What is the best time to go through security at Philadelphia?
Over the last 28 days the standard lane has been quietest around 1 AM, averaging 3 minutes, and Saturday has been the lightest day.
Which terminal at Philadelphia has the shortest security line?
On average, Terminal C (3 minutes). You can only use the checkpoint for your own terminal, though, so check which terminal your airline flies from in the finder above.
How early should I get to Philadelphia?

To plan your arrival, use the worst hour rather than the average: at Philadelphia that is 8 minutes in the standard lane around 2 PM. Allow that on top of your airline's check-in and bag-drop deadlines, and more on Fridays and holiday weekends. The live board above shows what the line is doing right now, and the chart projects the next 12 hours.

Where these numbers come from

Each airport publishes its own checkpoint wait estimates. This site reads them every minute and keeps every reading. Closed lanes are left out of the averages, and times are local to the airport. The averages above cover the last 28 days and are recalculated every hour. The posted wait is the airport's estimate, not a timed measurement, so treat it as a guide.

The full archive is free to download as an open dataset, and the about page explains who runs the site and why.