Denver (DEN) TSA wait times
Security at Denver International Airport is measured at about 4 minutes in the standard lane, and usually runs 25 to 45 minutes at 10 am on a Friday. PreCheck is moving in about 3 minutes.DEN security is about 4 minutes now, usually 25 to 45 at this hour. Busiest 7 to 9 AM and 3 to 5 PM.
Standard lane, right now
MeasuredChecked 16:44 UTC, live from Fruition.
Security wait, last 7 hours
Usually 25 to 45 minutes now
Up 24 min since 4 am.
How long is security at Denver, and when is DEN busiest?
So how long is security at Denver? The left chart shows the Denver security wait time hour by hour, built from DEN'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 7 to 9 AM and 3 to 5 PM rushes.Calmest 11 AM to 3 PM. Plan around the morning and evening rushes.
Planning a trip through DEN? Work out when to leave home for your flight, or read how these numbers are made. Flying a nearby airport instead? Compare Colorado Springs (COS) and Cheyenne (CYS), or every airport in Colorado.
Departures, the next few hours
| Hour | Departures | Typical security wait |
|---|---|---|
| 10 am (Now) | 66 flights | 33 min |
| 11 am | 54 flights | 26 min |
| noon | 57 flights | 27 min |
| 1 pm | 46 flights | 21 min |
| 2 pm | 52 flights | 24 min |
Standard, PreCheck, and CLEAR security lanes
Flying out of Denver: what to know
One terminal, three connected concourses
Denver runs one central building, the Jeppesen Terminal, with its main West and East security checkpoints on the upper level and three concourses, A, B and C, beyond them. All three concourses sit inside one connected secure area reached by an underground train that runs continuously, plus a pedestrian bridge to Concourse A, so you can clear at either checkpoint and ride to any gate. United and Southwest fly most departures.
PreCheck and CLEAR at both checkpoints
Both the West and East checkpoints carry TSA PreCheck lanes, and CLEAR Plus operates at Denver as well. Because every checkpoint feeds the same connected secure area, PreCheck and CLEAR members can enter at whichever checkpoint is moving fastest and still reach any concourse by the train or the Concourse A bridge. That flexibility is the payoff of Denver's single-secure-area design.
Peak hours and a layout tip
DEN's crush comes early, roughly 5 to 8 am, and again from about 4 to 7 pm, with summer and the December holidays running longest. One layout tip: since both checkpoints reach the same train, compare the posted West and East waits before committing, and remember Concourse A also has the pedestrian bridge if you would rather skip the train entirely.
Regional carriers fly these routes under the mainline brands, so a SkyWest flight shows on your ticket as Delta, United, American or Alaska.
DEN security, common questions
How early should I get to DEN?
For a domestic flight out of Denver, plan to be inside the terminal about an hour and a quarter before departure, and about an hour and a half for an international one. That covers a 25 to 50 minute checkpoint queue at the Thursday 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 DEN security?
Thursday around 10 am, when 67 departures' worth of passengers are converging on the checkpoint at once. The calmest hour with real traffic is Friday at 9 pm, at roughly 7 minutes.
Is TSA PreCheck worth it at DEN?
At the Thursday peak it turns a 25 to 50 minute queue into something closer to 12 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 DEN?
Denver 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 midnight, and checkpoints generally open about two hours before the first flight of the day.
How long is security at Denver?
At the Thursday peak around 10 am, the standard lane at DEN typically runs 25 to 50 minutes. Away from the peak it settles to roughly 7 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 DEN?
At the busy Thursday peak, PreCheck turns the standard 25 to 50 minute wait into about 12 minutes, a saving of roughly 25 minutes when it matters most. Off-peak the two lanes are much closer, because a short line is short in either one.
Tips for DEN, 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 8 am hour is the single busiest today, at about 33 minutes in the standard lane.
- United runs 33% of departures here, so its checkpoints and gates carry the most traffic. Which airline you fly is what decides your terminal.
Related
Live from DEN's checkpoint feed when fresh, otherwise modeled from the flight schedule. How these numbers are made.