San Francisco International security wait times: what to expect
From October 12 to November 9 we logged 711,707 security checkpoint readings at San Francisco International. The standard lane averaged 3 minutes, and TSA PreCheck averaged 1 minute. 97% 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 SFO is longest around 10 AM, when it has averaged 5 minutes, and shortest around 2 AM, at under a minute. By day of the week, Sunday has been the heaviest (3 minutes on average) and Tuesday the lightest (2 minutes).
| Time of day | Standard | PreCheck |
|---|
| Early morning (4–8 AM) | 3 min | 2 min |
| Morning (8 AM–noon) | 5 min | 2 min |
| Midday (noon–4 PM) | 3 min | 1 min |
| Evening (4–8 PM) | 2 min | 1 min |
| Night (8 PM–4 AM) | 1 min | 1 min |
Average wait across the last 28 days. A dash means the lane is usually closed then.
Is PreCheck worth it at SFO?
Over the same period PreCheck saved 1 minute on average compared with the standard lane, and 3 minutes at the 10 AM peak. Standard-lane waits are usually short here, so the gain is largest at peak times.
Terminal by terminal
Checkpoint D has had the shortest standard line (2 minutes on average) and Checkpoint A the longest (3 minutes). Security is separate in each terminal, so the one that matters is the one your airline uses.
Common questions
- What is the best time to go through security at SFO?
- Over the last 28 days the standard lane has been quietest around 2 AM, averaging under a minute, and Tuesday has been the lightest day.
- Which terminal at SFO has the shortest security line?
- On average, Checkpoint D (2 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 SFO?
To plan your arrival, use the worst hour rather than the average: at SFO that is 5 minutes in the standard lane around 10 AM. Allow that on top of your airline's check-in and bag-drop deadlines, and more on Sundays 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.