Airports / South Carolina / CAE
Columbia (CAE) TSA wait times
Security at Columbia Metropolitan Airport is running about 6 minutes in the standard lane, and usually runs 5 to 10 minutes at noon on a Friday. PreCheck is moving in about 3 minutes.CAE security is about 6 minutes now, usually 5 to 10 at this hour. Busiest 5 to 6 AM and 1 to 3 PM.
Standard lane, right now
Security wait, last 7 hours
Usually 5 to 10 minutes now
Up 1 min since 6 am.
How long is security at Columbia, and when is CAE busiest?
So how long is security at Columbia? The left chart shows the Columbia security wait time hour by hour, built from CAE's own departure schedule. The right ranks the days of the week by how long the wait gets. The calmest window is 7 to 11 AM; plan around the 5 to 6 AM and 1 to 3 PM rushes.Calmest 7 to 11 AM. Plan around the morning and evening rushes.
Planning a trip through CAE? Work out when to leave home for your flight, or read how these numbers are made. Flying a nearby airport instead? Compare Augusta (AGS) and Charlotte (CLT), or every airport in South Carolina.
Departures, the next few hours
| Hour | Departures | Typical security wait |
|---|---|---|
| noon (Now) | 1 flights | 6 min |
| 1 pm | 1 flights | 6 min |
| 2 pm | 1 flights | 7 min |
| 3 pm | 1 flights | 6 min |
| 4 pm | 1 flights | 7 min |
Standard, PreCheck, and CLEAR security lanes
Regional carriers fly these routes under the mainline brands, so a SkyWest flight shows on your ticket as Delta, United, American or Alaska.
CAE security, common questions
How early should I get to CAE?
For a domestic flight out of Columbia, plan to be inside the terminal about an hour before departure, and about an hour for an international one. That covers a 5 to 15 minute checkpoint queue at the Friday peak plus the walk to the gate. Outside the peak you can safely trim it; the calculator above works it out from your actual departure time.
What is the busiest time at CAE security?
Friday around 5 am, when 2 departures' worth of passengers are converging on the checkpoint at once. The calmest hour with real traffic is Monday at 7 am, at roughly 4 minutes.
Is TSA PreCheck worth it at CAE?
At the Friday peak it turns a 5 to 15 minute queue into something closer to 3 minutes. Over a five year membership that is worth it if you fly more than about three round trips a year through an airport this busy. The trusted traveler calculator prices it against your own flying.
When does security open at CAE?
Columbia Metropolitan Airport does not publish checkpoint opening hours in any national feed, so we will not invent them. What the schedule does show is that the first departures leave around 3 am, and checkpoints generally open about two hours before the first flight of the day.
How long is security at Columbia?
At the Friday peak around 5 am, the standard lane at CAE typically runs 5 to 15 minutes. Away from the peak it settles to roughly 4 minutes. These are modeled from the airport's own departure schedule, so they move hour by hour, which is what the chart on this page shows.
How much time does PreCheck save at CAE?
At the busy Friday peak, PreCheck turns the standard 5 to 15 minute wait into about 3 minutes, a saving of roughly 7 minutes when it matters most. Off-peak the two lanes are much closer, because a short line is short in either one.
Tips for CAE, from the data
- Fly between 7 to 11 AM if you can. That window sits between the two daily rushes, when the checkpoint is at its calmest.
- The 5 am hour is the single busiest today, at about 9 minutes in the standard lane.
- Delta runs 37% of departures here, so its checkpoints and gates carry the most traffic. Which airline you fly is what decides your terminal.
Related
Modeled from the flight schedule, not measured. How these numbers are made.