Average TSA wait times at RDU? (Durham: airport, safe, business)
Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill, CaryThe Triangle Area
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I'm in SW Durham and wondering how early I need to get to the airport here these days. I'm used to Newark, where it can take an hour or more to get through security. I have flights coming up in the next few months with departure times of 10:50 AM on a Saturday morning this month (domestic) and 5:55 PM on a Sunday in July (international). How long before departure time should I plan to get to RDU? Is two hours enough or do I need more?
I think 45 minutes is the longest I've ever waited at RDU, at Christmas time and the security line was nearly to the door. That's a LONG line. At peak times they use the security doggie, which saves a ton of time.
If you have priority through any one of the airlines' status flier programs, the wait is almost non-existent. If you fly domestic at night, the lines also seem to be quite short for everyone. I usually fly MIA to RDU and vice versa and RDU is a cake walk in comparison to MIA. The last time I left RDU, it was on a late Saturday afternoon and it was pretty quiet.
Both of those times, line should be virtually non existent....like <10m MAX. I'd get there an hour before, if not 30m before, but that's me. Your call on how close you like to call it
I flew out of RDU two Saturdays ago on a 10:10 am domestic flight. It took about five minutes to get through security.
With all of the delays in other airports around the county lately, I arrived an hour and a half early to be on the safe side. Seemed to be business as usual at RDU (meaning super quick compared to other airports I've been to).
10 minutes if you have TSA pre-check. Worth the $85. If you're going to fly much internationally then get Global Entry - $100 and it includes TSA pre-check.
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