Chicago Airports' Average Security Wait Times Are Improving

By Mae Rice in News on May 27, 2016 7:24PM

Earlier this month, epic security lines made O'Hare a nightmare and prompted one Midway visitor to say, very reasonably, "What the fuck?"? Now, though, security wait times at Chicago airports are declining, city officials announced Friday.

The average security wait time at O'Hare International Airport this week (May 15 to 22) was eight minutes, according to a statement from the Mayor's Office, down from an average wait of 15 minutes from May 1 to 14. The average security wait time at Midway International Airport was nine minutes, down from 11.

During peak hours at the airports—typically mornings, the Tribune reports—the average wait times were 42 minutes at O'Hare and 44 minutes at Midway, down from 105 and 65 minutes, respectively.

The change is due to newly obtained federal resources, the Mayor's office said. These resources have translated into eight new canine units and 32 new Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officers at O'Hare, bringing the airport to 12 total canine units and 1,400 TSA officers. Midway got one new TSA officer, and now has a total of 304 TSA officers and one canine unit.

The TSA still recommends getting to the airport two hours before a domestic flight and three before an international one, a TSA spokesperson told the Tribune.