Denver (DEN) TSA wait times
Security at Denver International Airport is measured at about 7 minutes in the standard lane, and usually runs 5 to 15 minutes at 9 pm on a Sunday. PreCheck is moving in about 3 minutes.DEN security is about 7 minutes now, usually 5 to 15 at this hour. Busiest 9 to 11 AM and 3 to 5 PM.
Standard lane, right now
MeasuredChecked 02:59 UTC, live from Fruition.
Security wait, last 7 hours
Usually 5 to 15 minutes now
Down 18 min since 3 pm.
When is DEN security busiest?
The left chart shows today's security wait 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 (21, 3); plan around the 9 to 11 AM and 3 to 5 PM rushes.Calmest (21, 3). Plan around the morning and evening rushes.
Departures, the next few hours
| Hour | Departures | Typical security wait |
|---|---|---|
| 9 pm (Now) | 18 flights | 8 min |
| 10 pm | 10 flights | 6 min |
| 11 pm | 3 flights | 4 min |
| midnight | 0 flights | 4 min |
| 1 am | 0 flights | 4 min |
Standard, PreCheck, and CLEAR security lanes
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.
Tips for DEN, from the data
- Fly between (21, 3) if you can. That window sits between the two daily rushes, when the checkpoint is at its calmest.
- The 10 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.