Airports tell panicked travelers to come closer to departure as security lines swell
Airports across the United States are urging travelers to arrive closer to their flight departure times as crowds at Transportation Security Administration security checkpoints create long waits—and in some cases disrupt other passengers’ plans. In a sign that travel chaos has reached a new rhythm, some airports say arriving far too early can worsen congestion during peak periods rather than prevent missed flights.
John Glenn International Airport in Columbus, Ohio, put that message in plain terms, including a chart that instructs passengers on timing. The airport warned that travelers responding to recent reports of long TSA lines may be driving additional bottlenecks when they show up well ahead of schedule.
In Ohio, John Glenn said “90 minutes before departure is all you need.” The airport also said that passengers who arrive hours early, in response to the situation surrounding staffing at TSA checkpoints, can make line conditions worse at the moments when the security lanes open.
“Arriving too early can actually create longer lines right when we open,” John Glenn said in a social media post Thursday. “Spacing out arrival times helps keep things moving smoothly for everyone.”
For travelers who planned around dire warnings, the shift is complicated by how unpredictable lines can be across airports. Amber Campbell said she missed a morning flight this week after arriving at Baltimore-Washington International Airport more than three hours before departure, adding that other passengers with later flights appeared to be prioritized or mixed into the same queues.
“We noted several people in line with later afternoon flights,” Campbell wrote on Facebook. “There was no organization or consideration for those of us missing flights vs people with later flights. We missed our flight by ten minutes!”
The guidance also intersects with viral culture around airport routines. The AP reported that the “Airport Dad” meme—depicting the family man who insists on leaving early and arriving early enough to clear security well before others—has become part of the conversation as passengers share frustration about the modern airport experience.
While that “Airport Dad” trope has been spreading on social media, some travelers said they are still facing outcomes that are hard to plan around. With TSA staffing strained by the federal funding standoff, airports have reported ballooning wait times that can stretch for hours at peak travel times, even as other airports report waits that are closer to normal.
Some travelers encountered waits beyond two hours, according to the AP’s reporting. George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston, for example, has drawn attention for long security lines that have stretched to four hours for some passengers, and Arthur Tsebetzis described it as a difficult experience.
“An absolute nightmare,” Tsebetzis said while standing in a line that snaked through the main terminal and spilled outside Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport in Atlanta, the AP reported. In the meantime, the AP said many airports have had wait times that remain closer to typical levels than the worst-case scenarios—an inconsistency that can leave passengers uncertain about how early they truly need to arrive.
Travel advisors and mental health counselors say the situation feeds a cycle of anxiety and precaution. Shari Botwin, a Philadelphia clinical social worker who counsels people about anxiety, said it is “human nature” to respond to disruptions without having control over what happens at an airport.
“It’s human nature. You don’t have control over what’s going on at an airport,” Botwin said. “There’s so much media attention about the chaos at airports,” she added, noting that people may not trust guidance urging them to stop arriving early.
The AP also noted that some airports are treating the problem as a coordination failure: the public message is not only to prepare for delays, but to avoid creating additional ones by showing up too early. In that context, the most actionable step is for passengers to check TSA wait times before they leave for the airport rather than relying on a blanket “arrive hours early” rule—advice consistent with MSI previously reported coverage of how to plan around unpredictable checkpoint lines about checking TSA security wait times.