Airports / North Carolina / RDU
Raleigh/Durham (RDU) TSA wait times
Security at Raleigh-Durham International Airport is running about 4 minutes in the standard lane, and usually runs 5 to 10 minutes at midnight on a Monday. PreCheck is moving in about 3 minutes.RDU security is about 4 minutes now, usually 5 to 10 at this hour. Busiest 5 to 6 AM and 3 to 5 PM.
Standard lane, right now
Security wait, last 7 hours
Usually 5 to 10 minutes now
Down 8 min since 6 pm.
When is RDU security busiest?
The left chart shows today's security wait hour by hour, built from RDU's own departure schedule. The right ranks the days of the week by how long the wait gets. The calmest window is (20, 2); plan around the 5 to 6 AM and 3 to 5 PM rushes.Calmest (20, 2). Plan around the morning and evening rushes.
Departures, the next few hours
| Hour | Departures | Typical security wait |
|---|---|---|
| midnight (Now) | 0 flights | 4 min |
| 1 am | 0 flights | 4 min |
| 2 am | 1 flights | 4 min |
| 3 am | 5 flights | 6 min |
| 4 am | 12 flights | 13 min |
Standard, PreCheck, and CLEAR security lanes
Terminals and security at RDU
Which airline you fly decides your terminal. Terminal 1 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.
Regional carriers fly these routes under the mainline brands, so a SkyWest flight shows on your ticket as Delta, United, American or Alaska.
RDU security, common questions
How early should I get to RDU?
For a domestic flight out of Raleigh/Durham, 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 RDU security?
Monday around 5 am, when 16 departures' worth of passengers are converging on the checkpoint at once. The calmest hour with real traffic is Wednesday at 3 am, at roughly 6 minutes.
Is TSA PreCheck worth it at RDU?
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 RDU?
Raleigh-Durham 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.
Tips for RDU, from the data
- Fly between (20, 2) 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.
- Delta runs 22% of departures here, so its checkpoints and gates carry the most traffic. Which airline you fly is what decides your terminal.
- American flies from Terminal 1, 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.