Airports / North Carolina / CLT
Charlotte (CLT) TSA wait times
Security at Charlotte Douglas International Airport is running about 20 minutes in the standard lane, and usually runs 15 to 30 minutes at noon on a Friday. PreCheck is moving in about 7 minutes.CLT security is about 20 minutes now, usually 15 to 30 at this hour. Busiest 9 to 11 AM and 2 to 4 PM.
Standard lane, right now
Security wait, last 7 hours
Usually 15 to 30 minutes now
Level since 6 am.
How long is security at Charlotte, and when is CLT busiest?
So how long is security at Charlotte? The left chart shows the Charlotte security wait time hour by hour, built from CLT's own departure schedule. The right ranks the days of the week by how long the wait gets. The calmest window is 11 AM to 3 PM; plan around the 9 to 11 AM and 2 to 4 PM rushes.Calmest 11 AM to 3 PM. Plan around the morning and evening rushes.
Planning a trip through CLT? Work out when to leave home for your flight, or read how these numbers are made, or see the CLT terminal map and gate walk times. Flying a nearby airport instead? Compare Concord (USA) and Greer (GSP), or every airport in North Carolina.
Departures, the next few hours
| Hour | Departures | Typical security wait |
|---|---|---|
| noon (Now) | 30 flights | 20 min |
| 1 pm | 31 flights | 21 min |
| 2 pm | 31 flights | 21 min |
| 3 pm | 33 flights | 23 min |
| 4 pm | 30 flights | 20 min |
Standard, PreCheck, and CLEAR security lanes
Flying out of Charlotte: what to know
One terminal, five walkable concourses
Charlotte Douglas is a single-terminal airport with five concourses, A through E, all under one roof. Three checkpoints feed a shared central atrium called The Plaza, and from there every concourse connects on foot with no train or shuttle needed. That means you can clear at whichever checkpoint is shortest and walk to any gate. Charlotte is one of American Airlines' largest hubs, so American runs the overwhelming majority of flights.
PreCheck at Checkpoint 2, CLEAR in flux
TSA PreCheck lanes operate at Checkpoint 2, generally opening in the pre-dawn hours and running late. CLEAR's rollout at Charlotte has been paused and revisited more than once, so its availability has been unsettled; check its current status before you count on it. Since the concourses share one secure area, PreCheck travelers can enter at Checkpoint 2 and still reach any gate.
Hub banks and the shortest-line move
As American's connecting hub, Charlotte fills during its banked departure waves through the day rather than only at the morning rush, so lines can spike midday when a bank pushes out. The layout is your advantage: because all three checkpoints reach the same atrium, glance at the posted waits, pick the shortest, then walk the spine to your concourse.
Regional carriers fly these routes under the mainline brands, so a SkyWest flight shows on your ticket as Delta, United, American or Alaska.
CLT security, common questions
How early should I get to CLT?
For a domestic flight out of Charlotte, plan to be inside the terminal about an hour before departure, and about an hour and a half for an international one. That covers a 20 to 35 minute checkpoint queue at the Sunday 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 CLT security?
Sunday around 7 pm, when 36 departures' worth of passengers are converging on the checkpoint at once. The calmest hour with real traffic is Tuesday at 4 am, at roughly 6 minutes.
Is TSA PreCheck worth it at CLT?
At the Sunday peak it turns a 20 to 35 minute queue into something closer to 9 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 CLT?
Charlotte Douglas International 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 Charlotte?
At the Sunday peak around 7 pm, the standard lane at CLT typically runs 20 to 35 minutes. Away from the peak it settles to roughly 6 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 CLT?
At the busy Sunday peak, PreCheck turns the standard 20 to 35 minute wait into about 9 minutes, a saving of roughly 18 minutes when it matters most. Off-peak the two lanes are much closer, because a short line is short in either one.
Tips for CLT, from the data
- Fly between 11 AM to 3 PM if you can. That window sits between the two daily rushes, when the checkpoint is at its calmest.
- The 10 am hour is the single busiest today, at about 23 minutes in the standard lane.
- American runs 64% 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.