How long to wait in Security lines at O'hare?

[dxkj]

How long is it going to take today do you think? Anyone been there recently? Im going today in a few hours and wonder how early i should get. im going to be flying United.

thanks

 

[StageLeft]

I've done a bunch of flying recently and so has mrs. skoorb. We've not encountered any major waits anywhere. Yes, security is a bit slower, but for the most part it's not bad at all.

 

[Amused]

Excerpt from a post of mine:

<<BTW, the vacation was great, except for the flight to Salt Lake and the flight home. The airlines are a MESS!!! They have totally and completely sacrificed any and all customer service. Canceled flights, lost and destroyed baggage and no help whatsoever are the norm now. In Chicago, Salt Lake and LA, lines to claim lost baggage were over two hours long! We had considered Fed-Exing our luggage home on the return trip, and should have. It took three hours to find our luggage in Chicago, and two hours in Salt Lake.

And the security lines are often an hour long, but that doesn't excuse the airline's stupidity. If you can, DON'T FLY! And let the airlines know why! They don't "deserve" our business unless they EARN our business! >>

When we flew out of ORD on the twenty sixth, the security line was an hour long. When we flew out of LAX yesterday, it was about twenty miniutes.

However, security isn't your big problem. Customer service and baggage is. If you can, don't check any baggage, or fed-ex your stuff to your destination.

 

[dxkj]

its a one day job flight, Im carrying on one bag....


so would you think showing up an hour before the flight would be plenty of time? I'd rather not be waiting around forever again )


my main worry is the drive to O'Hare near rush hour

 

[Amused]

<< its a one day job flight, Im carrying on one bag....


so would you think showing up an hour before the flight would be plenty of time? I'd rather not be waiting around forever again )


my main worry is the drive to O'Hare near rush hour >>



I'd give it two hours at the very, very least. Three hours would be better. And three hours is a must if you have to check in at the ticket counter. We had E-tickets, and those ticket counter lines are worse than ever.

The airlines are screwing up everything. Too few agents, baggage handlers and flights, and too many pissed off customers.

 

[SirPsycho82]

The security lines are not bad - in fact, I experienced no lines at all. The worst was the line to check-in. Flew out of O'Hare the day after Christmas - the line was impossibly long inside so I waited a half hour outside for curbside (it was around 5 degrees outside at the time and I only had a thin jacket). After finally getting to the front of the line, I discover that my flight was cancelled and I had to wait through the inside line for about an hour. I imagine that on a normal day, your wait will be insignificant. When I finally was able to get to security, there was no line and I just walked through the security checkpoint (of course, I got picked out of the crowd to get searched during my layover in Charlotte - but, that is another story).

 

[chechi]

On Dec 26th, in Detroit Metro, I had to wait over an hour and a half in the security line. You should of seen the line, it zigzagged all over the whole airport. And we missed our plane because of it. Very unorganized.

 

[Viper GTS]

I flew from Portland, OR to Chicago & then to Pittsburgh on December 28th/29th (overnight).

I was dropped off in Portland three hours before my flight was scheduled to leave, it took me a grand total of 30 minutes to reach my gate. That included checking my baggage, & going through security.

My experience in Pittsburgh for the return was similar, around 30 minutes to go through.

They are recommending 2 hours though, you never know what you might encounter.

Viper GTS

 

[cyclistca]

I would give yourself two hours. That's what they are recommending up here in Canada. I flew over Christmas and it was not to bad. I had a long wait going out of Vancouver but only a 30 min wait coming back through Montreal.

 

[Lucky]

It depends on the airport, obviously, and the day/time of the year. Albequerque (sp?) had 2 hour lines to get past security at christmas because everyone has to pass through one checkpoint which has only 4 screeners. Chicago midway was a bit better, they seemed to go faster, have more screeners, and not all in one location. During a recent 5 hour layover there, I went in and out of security with no wait. Same with Columbus ohio airport-no wait.

However, bag check lines were ridiculous. In columbus they were 1 hour+, albequerque had 1+ hour lines for skycap, 2 hours inside, and in chicago, where I met my father onboard the plane, he said lines were so bad (2 hours) then he nearly didnt make the flight.