Here’s another list Harry Reid International doesn’t want to be on
Harry Reid International Airport has found itself near the top of another list it would prefer not being on.
According to an analysis of Bureau of Transportation Statistics data, the airport serving Las Vegas has the sixth-highest wait times for clearing Transportation Security Administration lines among 31 major U.S. airports that serve 10 million or more passengers a year.
Earlier this month, a study showed Reid had the most flight delays among major U.S. airports.
A TSA spokesperson said security lines at Reid are well within the 30-minute guideline wait times for standard TSA lanes, those not designated as TSA Precheck lanes.
According to an analysis by SOAX, a United Kingdom-based data analytics company, passengers leaving Reid spent an average 12 minutes and 1 second in line waiting to clear security.
The SOAX report also said the busiest day for security lines at Reid is Friday with Wednesday being the quietest day.
If you arrive at Reid around 5 a.m., the average security line is the longest at 18 minutes and 9 seconds, while going through TSA at 2 a.m. will see you wait just two minutes on average.
Lisa Farbstein, a TSA spokesperson, said all wait times noted in the study, including the airport with the worst delays, Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport in Florida, are within TSA’s 30-minutes clearance guideline.
“We work closely with our airport and airline partners to be able to project the busiest times of the day and make sure we are prepared,” Farbstein said. “Please note that we do not measure the length of lines or number of people, but rather the time someone is waiting. We also do our best to maintain wait time standards of under 10 minutes for TSA PreCheck lanes.”
PreCheck is the TSA’s known traveler program that provides separate shorter lines in which passengers do not have to have computers and tablets scanned separately and passengers do not have to remove their shoes or light jackets.
Farbstein said generally peak travel times at airports typically occur the first thing in the early morning and then again in the late afternoon.
“As we approach busy travel periods, such as Memorial Day, Fourth of July, Labor Day and Thanksgiving weekends, we want passengers to be prepared for elevated travel volumes at airports across the country because it is important that travelers allow themselves plenty of time to get to their gate,” she said.
“Travelers sometimes underestimate all of the necessary steps in their travel journey, such as their trip and drive to the airport, finding an available parking space, returning a rental car, checking baggage — and all of that is before they even get to our checkpoint. We advise travelers to plan to arrive two hours ahead of their flight, which is a best practice for all of these reasons.”
Of the top 10 airports with the highest level of TSA delays, six are west of the Mississippi River with Los Angeles International third (14 minutes, 29 seconds), San Diego International fourth (14 minutes, 14 seconds), Reid, Austin-Bergstrom International in Texas seventh (11 minutes, 49 seconds), Salt Lake City International eighth (11 minutes, 39 seconds) and San Francisco International (11 minutes, 23 seconds).
The airport with the shortest TSA lines in 2023 was Chicago’s O’Hare International (2 minutes, 8 seconds).
Contact Richard N. Velotta at rvelotta@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3893. Follow @RickVelotta on X.