Airports / California / SMF
Sacramento (SMF) TSA wait times
Security at Sacramento International Airport is running about 15 minutes in the standard lane, and usually runs 10 to 20 minutes at 9 am on a Friday. PreCheck is moving in about 5 minutes.SMF security is about 15 minutes now, usually 10 to 20 at this hour. Busiest 5 to 6 AM and 4 to 6 PM.
Standard lane, right now
Security wait, last 7 hours
Usually 10 to 20 minutes now
Up 7 min since 3 am.
How long is security at Sacramento, and when is SMF busiest?
So how long is security at Sacramento? The left chart shows the Sacramento security wait time hour by hour, built from SMF's own departure schedule. The right ranks the days of the week by how long the wait gets. The calmest window is 1 to 5 PM; plan around the 5 to 6 AM and 4 to 6 PM rushes.Calmest 1 to 5 PM. Plan around the morning and evening rushes.
Planning a trip through SMF? Work out when to leave home for your flight, or read how these numbers are made. Flying a nearby airport instead? Compare Stockton (SCK) and Santa Rosa (STS), or every airport in California.
Departures, the next few hours
| Hour | Departures | Typical security wait |
|---|---|---|
| 9 am (Now) | 10 flights | 15 min |
| 10 am | 11 flights | 15 min |
| 11 am | 11 flights | 15 min |
| noon | 9 flights | 13 min |
| 1 pm | 9 flights | 12 min |
Standard, PreCheck, and CLEAR security lanes
Terminals and security at SMF
Which airline you fly decides your terminal. Terminal B runs the longest lines here. The per-terminal minute is modeled from each terminal's share of departures, not measured. The terminals are separate buildings, so you clear security at your own airline's terminal.
Flying out of Sacramento: what to know
Two separate terminals, no airside link
Sacramento has two terminals in separate buildings, A on the east and B on the west, each with its own check-in, security checkpoint and gates. They are not connected airside; landside, pedestrian bridges through the central garage link them, about a 10-minute walk. Use your own airline's terminal, because going to the wrong building means clearing security a second time. Terminal B reaches its gates by an automated people mover after screening.
PreCheck at both terminals, CLEAR at Terminal B
TSA PreCheck lanes operate at both Terminal A and Terminal B, so PreCheck travelers are covered whichever building they use. CLEAR is located in Terminal B. Since the two terminals are separate and not linked past security, confirm which terminal your airline uses before you arrive; the programs available depend on that building, especially for CLEAR, which is on the Terminal B side.
Southwest fills Terminal B; match your terminal first
Southwest carries more than half of Sacramento's passengers and flies from Terminal B, making it the busier building, so its checkpoint fills fastest during morning and evening banks. Terminal A serves carriers like Alaska, American, Delta and United. The simple tip: match your terminal to your airline before leaving home, since A and B share no airside connection and correcting a mistake costs a walk and a second screening.
Regional carriers fly these routes under the mainline brands, so a SkyWest flight shows on your ticket as Delta, United, American or Alaska.
SMF security, common questions
How early should I get to SMF?
For a domestic flight out of Sacramento, plan to be inside the terminal about an hour before departure, and about an hour and a quarter for an international one. That covers a 15 to 30 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 SMF security?
Monday around 5 am, when 13 departures' worth of passengers are converging on the checkpoint at once. The calmest hour with real traffic is Monday at 10 pm, at roughly 5 minutes.
Is TSA PreCheck worth it at SMF?
At the Monday peak it turns a 15 to 30 minute queue into something closer to 7 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 SMF?
Sacramento 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 Sacramento?
At the Monday peak around 5 am, the standard lane at SMF typically runs 15 to 30 minutes. Away from the peak it settles to roughly 5 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 SMF?
At the busy Monday peak, PreCheck turns the standard 15 to 30 minute wait into about 7 minutes, a saving of roughly 15 minutes when it matters most. Off-peak the two lanes are much closer, because a short line is short in either one.
Which terminal is Southwest at SMF?
Southwest departs from Terminal B at Sacramento International Airport and flies 57% of the airport's departures. Your terminal is set by the airline you fly, so check your boarding pass for the gate.
Tips for SMF, from the data
- Fly between 1 to 5 PM 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 19 minutes in the standard lane.
- Southwest runs 57% of departures here, so its checkpoints and gates carry the most traffic. Which airline you fly is what decides your terminal.
- Southwest flies from Terminal B, which runs the longest lines here. The terminals are separate buildings, so plan for your own airline's terminal.
Related
Modeled from the flight schedule, not measured. How these numbers are made.