Shutterstock / Marius Dobilas
There’s nothing more crushing than showing up to the airport with only a few minutes of wiggle room only to find that airport security is backed up over an hour. Even worse, you can show up at the airport with hours to spare and find out that security is backed up several hours and you’re totally f****d. This happened to me three years ago when I arrived in Miami for my honeymoon flight to St. Lucia. I got to the airport two hours early and the shitty American Airlines check-in and security lines were so backed up they told us we were too late (two hours!) and shouldn’t even bother checking in.
Things have changed. An update to the travel app TripIt will now tell you how long the security check-in lines are at the airport and you can check it before you ever get to the airport. The system relies on sensors installed within the airport security systems in conjunction with a company named iinside. These sensors give an accurate reading how long the security line wait times are.
“Wasted time at the airport really adds up — especially for frequent travelers,” Jen Moyse, director of product for TripIt from Concur, said in a statement. “This latest addition to TripIt Pro brings us one step closer to our goal of getting you out the door and to your gate as fast as possible.”
Travelers can check current security wait times at different checkpoints throughout the terminal, ensuring that they’re in the fastest-moving lane. The app will also provide information on what time to leave for the airport and how long it will take to walk from security to airport gate. (via)
TripIt is a free app that anyone with a smartphone can download. But, in order to get this update you will need to pay $49/year for TripIt Pro. So if you only get on a plane a handful of times each year this might not be for you. However, if you’re a business traveler and are flying several times a week/month then this is almost certainly something you’ll want to invest in because it can save you from having a meltdown over airport security in 2018.