Travelers at John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) faced mixed TSA security wait times Tuesday, March 17, 2026, with some terminals seeing lines exceeding 30 minutes while others cleared in under 5 minutes. Real-time data from the official JFK Airport website showed significant variation across the airport's terminals during peak spring break travel, compounded by lingering staffing pressures from the partial government shutdown now in its second month.
As of mid-morning EDT (late evening KST), general security lines stood at: Terminal 1 — 1 minute; Terminal 4 — exceeds 30 minutes; Terminal 5 — 20 minutes; Terminal 7 — 1 minute; Terminal 8 — 29 minutes. TSA PreCheck lanes offered faster access, with waits of no wait at Terminal 1, 7 minutes at Terminal 4, 10 minutes at Terminal 5, and 6 minutes at Terminal 8. Terminal 7 had no PreCheck listed. These figures update in real time on the airport's site, reflecting checkpoint conditions over recent minutes.
