St. Louis (STL) TSA wait times
Security at St. Louis Lambert International Airport is running about 10 minutes in the standard lane, and usually runs 5 to 15 minutes at 11 am on a Friday. PreCheck is moving in about 4 minutes.STL security is about 10 minutes now, usually 5 to 15 at this hour. Busiest 5 to 7 AM and 3 to 5 PM.
Standard lane, right now
Security wait, last 7 hours
Usually 5 to 15 minutes now
Down 7 min since 5 am.
How long is security at St. Louis, and when is STL busiest?
So how long is security at St. Louis? The left chart shows the St. Louis security wait time hour by hour, built from STL's own departure schedule. The right ranks the days of the week by how long the wait gets. The calmest window is 9 AM to 1 PM; plan around the 5 to 7 AM and 3 to 5 PM rushes.Calmest 9 AM to 1 PM. Plan around the morning and evening rushes.
Planning a trip through STL? Work out when to leave home for your flight, or read how these numbers are made. Flying a nearby airport instead? Compare Belleville (BLV) and Springfield (SPI), or every airport in Missouri.
Departures, the next few hours
| Hour | Departures | Typical security wait |
|---|---|---|
| 11 am (Now) | 8 flights | 10 min |
| noon | 10 flights | 13 min |
| 1 pm | 10 flights | 12 min |
| 2 pm | 9 flights | 12 min |
| 3 pm | 9 flights | 11 min |
Standard, PreCheck, and CLEAR security lanes
Terminals and security at STL
Which airline you fly decides your terminal. Terminal 2 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 St. Louis: what to know
Two separate terminals, three checkpoints
Lambert has two separate terminal buildings. Terminal 1 holds two checkpoints, one for Concourse A and one for Concourse C, that do not connect to each other airside, and Terminal 2 has a single checkpoint for Concourse E. The terminals are not linked past security, so use your own airline's checkpoint; a free shuttle runs landside between the two buildings around the clock.
PreCheck at all three, CLEAR at all three
All three checkpoints, Terminal 1-A, Terminal 1-C and Terminal 2-E, have TSA PreCheck lanes, and CLEAR Plus lanes are at all three as well. CLEAR enrollment pods sit outside the checkpoints. Because the terminals are separate, make sure you go to the checkpoint for your specific concourse; heading to the wrong building means clearing security again after riding the shuttle.
Southwest at Terminal 2 drives the peaks
Southwest is the largest carrier at Lambert and operates from Terminal 2, Concourse E, so that checkpoint tends to fill during its morning and evening banks; Terminal 1 serves most other airlines across Concourses A and C. Check your concourse on your boarding pass before you arrive, because the two terminals are far enough apart that fixing a wrong guess costs a shuttle ride.
Regional carriers fly these routes under the mainline brands, so a SkyWest flight shows on your ticket as Delta, United, American or Alaska.
STL security, common questions
How early should I get to STL?
For a domestic flight out of St. Louis, 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 STL security?
Monday around 6 am, when 14 departures' worth of passengers are converging on the checkpoint at once. The calmest hour with real traffic is Wednesday at 8 pm, at roughly 5 minutes.
Is TSA PreCheck worth it at STL?
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 STL?
St. Louis Lambert 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 St. Louis?
At the Monday peak around 6 am, the standard lane at STL 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 STL?
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 STL?
Southwest departs from Terminal 2 at St. Louis Lambert International Airport and flies 65% of the airport's departures. Your terminal is set by the airline you fly, so check your boarding pass for the gate.
Tips for STL, from the data
- Fly between 9 AM to 1 PM if you can. That window sits between the two daily rushes, when the checkpoint is at its calmest.
- The 6 am hour is the single busiest today, at about 18 minutes in the standard lane.
- Southwest runs 65% 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 2, 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.