NYC’s largest airport, JFK, has longest security wait times in US

Hoping to escape the Big Apple this summer? Avoid JFK.

Travelers hoping to whiz their way to-and-from through America’s gateway to the world are consistently subjected to longer waits at security and passport control than at any other U.S. airport, according to travel site Bounce.

Joining JFK on the naughty step are runners-up San Francisco and Miami, also known for their inability to process passengers quickly.

For a painless pass through the government-mandated gauntlets, set your sights on Baltimore/Washington International as a departure point, according to the survey. San Antonio and San Jose took second and third pride of place.

Bounce, a booking site specializing in business travel, used the online wait times guides maintained by U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the Transportation Security Administration, collecting publicly available data from both agencies’ websites between April 26, 2022, and April 25, 2023.

New York’s biggest airport taking the top slot for time wasting will come as no surprise to frequent sufferers.

During the period studied, travelers’ waits at security averaged 22 minutes, 48 seconds. The average wait at passport control was 25 minutes, 36 seconds, resulting in a combined average wait of 48 minutes, 24 seconds.

By comparison, travelers at BWI waited, on average, a negligible 14 minutes and 48 seconds.

Some airports handle their relatively light amount of foreign traffic with aplomb, while falling down on the job at security. This year, Florida’s Palm Beach International, where the wait for passport control averages just 2 minutes, 36 seconds, took home the the dubious first prize in the security wait time category — an astonishing 34 minutes, 6 seconds. That’s a two-minute improvement over last year.

Runners-up for the undistinguished honor are are St. Louis Lambert International Airport with 26 minutes, 36 seconds at security and San Francisco International Airport with 25 minutes, 36 seconds.

Conversely, travelers flying through Newark Liberty International are breezing through the body scanners, with an average of only 3 minutes and six seconds, according to the data studied. Runners-up like Ontario Airport in California’s Inland Empire delivered a 4-minute, 6-second wait.

Fort Lauderdale–Hollywood International Airport struggled the most at passport control, squeaking past JFK for a whopping 25-minute, 54-second wait.

Travelers should note, this list does not take into account, time to retrieve baggage or navigate through the airport.