Waiting in line at TSA is one of those travel experiences that almost everyone dreads.
The good news? You may have more control over your wait than you think.
Most travelers simply join whichever line looks shortest or happens to be directly in front of them. But studies of human behavior—and a little common sense—suggest that’s not always the fastest choice.
If you know what to look for, you can often improve your odds of getting through security more quickly without paying for TSA PreCheck or CLEAR.
Look to the left
Lines in the middle tend to be longer because they’re often the ones right in front of us as we arrive. In human nature, the thing in the middle tends to be considered the most important, so that’s where we naturally go first. In science, that’s called “central fixation bias.”
If the lines in the middle are significantly longer, most of us tend to gravitate to the right. For decades, some researchers have believed that’s partly because most people are right-handed.
Why does that happen? It’s mostly about motor efficiency. Your dominant hand (and often your dominant foot) is faster, more coordinated, and requires less effort to use. For the roughly 90% of us who are right-handed, our brains have spent our entire lives optimizing movements around that side, so choosing the right can simply feel more natural.
There’s also some evidence that right-handers unconsciously associate the right side with positive things, while left-handers are somewhat more likely to associate the left side with positive things. Psychologists call this the “body-specificity hypothesis.”
Anyway, with central fixation bias leading some people to choose middle lines and a mixture of motor efficiency and the body-specificity hypothesis suggesting people go right, that leaves the lines on the left side. Give them a look – they might be the shortest lines.
Look at who’s on the line
It’s not just the length of the queue that will determine how long your wait will be, but who is on it.
- A line with a bunch of business people? That’s a queue full of people who probably know what they’re doing. They most likely have already emptied their pockets, taken out their bag o’liquids, have their ID ready to be scanned, and done everything else they need to do before reaching the front of the line (of course, business people also probably have PreCheck. But you understand the point I’m trying to make – they’re prepared).
- A line with people carrying lots of loose items? Think oversized backpacks, shopping bags, pillows, neck pillows, and souvenirs. The more things people have to unload into bins and gather on the other side, the longer that line is likely to take.
- A line with a bunch of seniors? That line is probably going to go slower. Seniors may move slower as they walk and get their belongings prepared.
- A line that has multiple families with small children? They have to unload strollers and convince toddlers to give up their stuffies, all while potentially herding cats ;-). All of that can result in that line moving slower.
Meanwhile, don’t be one of those people ;-). Here’s what YOU can do to get through the line quickly and efficiently.
Look at who’s managing the lines
It’s not just who’s in line – sometimes it’s who’s in charge of the line.
Not all TSA officers are the same. Some may do their best to keep the queues moving. Others naturally take a more hands-off approach. The former is going to keep the line moving.
Of course, none of these tips are foolproof. Sometimes the line full of experienced travelers comes to a standstill because someone forgot a laptop in their bag. Sometimes the family with three young kids sails through because everyone is surprisingly organized. And sometimes the shortest line really is the fastest.
But over time, these little observations can tilt the odds in your favor.
So the next time you reach a TSA checkpoint, don’t just look for the shortest line.
Look for the one that’s most likely to get you through security first.
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