TSA wait times
ENCLT · Charlotte Douglas International Airport
CLT TSA wait times: how busy will security be?
We forecast how many travelers each CLT security checkpoint will screen, hour by hour, from the official TSA throughput reports. Pick your flight time to see which checkpoint should be the least busy for you.
Forecasts, not live wait times. Busy levels compare each checkpoint with its own past year. Times are local airport time.
When is your flight?
Security checkpoints before a 9 AM departure on Tuesday, October 27
Foxy's pickCheckpoint 3 (east side of the lobby) should be moderately busy before your flight.
| Checkpoint | 6 AM | 7 AM | 8 AM |
|---|---|---|---|
| Checkpoint 3 (east side of the lobby) Best bet | Moderate~489 travelers | Calm~439 travelers | Moderate~511 travelers |
| Checkpoint 1 (west side of the lobby) | Calm~596 travelers | Moderate~754 travelers | Calm~543 travelers |
At CLT, every checkpoint leads to every concourse, so you can pick the least busy one. Checkpoints reserved for connecting passengers or private flights are not listed. Source: official airport website, checked 2026-10-09.
A typical week at CLT security
Travelers screened per minute, all checkpoints together, forecast average over the next four weeks. This is a flow of people, not a wait time.
Calm Moderate Busy compared with the rest of the week.
| Day | 3 AM | 4 AM | 5 AM | 6 AM | 7 AM | 8 AM | 9 AM | 10 AM | 11 AM | 12 PM | 1 PM | 2 PM | 3 PM | 4 PM | 5 PM | 6 PM | 7 PM | 8 PM | 9 PM | 10 PM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mon | 5/min | 14/min | 31/min | 42/min | 38/min | 35/min | 35/min | 27/min | 29/min | 29/min | 32/min | 33/min | 32/min | 32/min | 25/min | 22/min | 19/min | 14/min | 7/min | 2/min |
| Tue | 5/min | 12/min | 21/min | 31/min | 38/min | 29/min | 30/min | 24/min | 27/min | 24/min | 27/min | 33/min | 27/min | 33/min | 26/min | 19/min | 14/min | 9/min | 4/min | 1/min |
| Wed | 5/min | 12/min | 24/min | 32/min | 33/min | 28/min | 29/min | 27/min | 24/min | 27/min | 31/min | 36/min | 33/min | 34/min | 27/min | 22/min | 17/min | 9/min | 5/min | 1/min |
| Thu | 6/min | 15/min | 30/min | 36/min | 39/min | 31/min | 36/min | 28/min | 27/min | 31/min | 35/min | 42/min | 38/min | 40/min | 33/min | 29/min | 21/min | 17/min | 9/min | 3/min |
| Fri | 6/min | 17/min | 31/min | 41/min | 47/min | 38/min | 36/min | 30/min | 28/min | 31/min | 35/min | 38/min | 36/min | 37/min | 30/min | 26/min | 20/min | 13/min | 9/min | 2/min |
| Sat | 5/min | 17/min | 30/min | 38/min | 42/min | 33/min | 30/min | 25/min | 21/min | 24/min | 27/min | 33/min | 27/min | 30/min | 22/min | 20/min | 20/min | 16/min | 10/min | 3/min |
| Sun | 5/min | 15/min | 27/min | 32/min | 35/min | 30/min | 33/min | 30/min | 30/min | 33/min | 37/min | 41/min | 40/min | 40/min | 30/min | 30/min | 22/min | 17/min | 12/min | 2/min |
Busiest days ahead
- Friday, March 26: about 42,922 travelers screened
- Friday, April 2: about 42,874 travelers screened
- Thursday, March 25: about 42,836 travelers screened
- Saturday, November 28: about 40,946 travelers screened
- Saturday, December 19: about 40,552 travelers screened
How we forecast
Every week, the TSA publishes how many travelers each checkpoint screened, hour by hour. Our model learns each checkpoint's patterns from years of these reports (weekdays, seasons, holidays) and is retested every week against what really happened.
Tested on 2026: for the 3 hours before a departure, our forecasts were off by 14% on average, and the busy level was right 68% of the time. Treat them as typical conditions, not a guarantee.
Source: TSA throughput data (FOIA Reading Room), U.S. government work. Updated Oct. 27, 2026. For live wait times, see the official airport website.