U.S. Airports Are Telling Travelers… Not to Arrive Too Early?!

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If you’re flying soon, it might have crossed your mind to get into the TSA line four hours early.  But airports don’t want you to do that?

John Glenn Columbus International Airport in Ohio says, “No need to arrive three to four hours early.  We promise, 90 minutes does the trick… Arriving too early can actually create LONGER lines right when we open.  Spacing out arrival times helps keep things moving smoothly for everyone.”  They recommend two hours for international flights.

That airport HAS been able to keep lines manageable, and it makes sense that EVERYONE arriving right as security opens for the day would create long lines.

The problem is:  Some bigger airports have NOT been able to keep people moving through checkpoints, and TSA lines at some of them have been more than two hours long… just to get through security.

In fact, some enterprising people are working as a “placeholding concierge service” in airports, like in New York City.  You can hire them to stand in line for you.  One service charges $25 an hour, with a two-hour minimum.

Another entrepreneur is willing to travel to several airports to stand in line, but you’ve gotta pay him in advance.  And that’s more expensive:  $600 to $1,200, depending on how far away the airport is.  And he needs a week’s notice.

The shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security just became the longest partial shutdown in U.S. history yesterday. There may be an end in sight… but it’s hard to say how long it’ll take airports to fully recover.

It’s not foolproof, but if you’re traveling, you can check TSA wait times online before heading to the airport.

SOURCES: Associated Press / New York Post