Salt Lake City (SLC) TSA wait times
Security at Salt Lake City International Airport is running about 22 minutes in the standard lane, and usually runs 15 to 30 minutes at 10 am on a Friday. PreCheck is moving in about 8 minutes.SLC security is about 22 minutes now, usually 15 to 30 at this hour. Busiest 7 to 9 AM and 1 to 3 PM.
Standard lane, right now
Security wait, last 7 hours
Usually 15 to 30 minutes now
Up 15 min since 4 am.
How long is security at Salt Lake City, and when is SLC busiest?
So how long is security at Salt Lake City? The left chart shows the Salt Lake City security wait time hour by hour, built from SLC's own departure schedule. The right ranks the days of the week by how long the wait gets. The calmest window is 4 to 8 PM; plan around the 7 to 9 AM and 1 to 3 PM rushes.Calmest 4 to 8 PM. Plan around the morning and evening rushes.
Planning a trip through SLC? Work out when to leave home for your flight, or read how these numbers are made. Flying a nearby airport instead? Compare Provo (PVU) and Pocatello (PIH), or every airport in Utah.
Departures, the next few hours
| Hour | Departures | Typical security wait |
|---|---|---|
| 10 am (Now) | 22 flights | 22 min |
| 11 am | 16 flights | 15 min |
| noon | 20 flights | 19 min |
| 1 pm | 19 flights | 18 min |
| 2 pm | 23 flights | 23 min |
Standard, PreCheck, and CLEAR security lanes
Flying out of Salt Lake City: what to know
One terminal, two concourses joined by tunnels
Salt Lake City rebuilt into a single unified terminal with two concourses, A and B, and two security checkpoints. The concourses connect airside through underground tunnels, including the central 'river tunnel' opened in 2024, so once you clear either checkpoint you can reach any gate without re-screening. Delta runs its hub here, and its gates spread across both concourses.
PreCheck at both checkpoints, CLEAR onsite
Both of Salt Lake City's checkpoints carry TSA PreCheck lanes, and CLEAR operates at the airport as well, with onsite TSA PreCheck enrollment available in the CLEAR lane. Because the two concourses connect airside, you are free to clear at whichever checkpoint is moving faster and then walk through the tunnel to your gate on either concourse.
Busy mornings and late afternoons
Security at Salt Lake City is heaviest from about 6 to 9 am and again 4 to 7 pm, with midday the calmest. Since both checkpoints feed the same connected concourses, you do not have to use the one nearest your airline. Join whichever line is shorter and use the tunnels to reach your gate on Concourse A or B.
Regional carriers fly these routes under the mainline brands, so a SkyWest flight shows on your ticket as Delta, United, American or Alaska.
SLC security, common questions
How early should I get to SLC?
For a domestic flight out of Salt Lake City, 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 Monday 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 SLC security?
Monday around 8 am, when 25 departures' worth of passengers are converging on the checkpoint at once. The calmest hour with real traffic is Saturday at 10 pm, at roughly 6 minutes.
Is TSA PreCheck worth it at SLC?
At the Monday 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 SLC?
Salt Lake City 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 2 am, and checkpoints generally open about two hours before the first flight of the day.
How long is security at Salt Lake City?
At the Monday peak around 8 am, the standard lane at SLC 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 SLC?
At the busy Monday 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 SLC, from the data
- Fly between 4 to 8 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 26 minutes in the standard lane.
- Delta runs 47% 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.