What is the TSA wait at DEN right now?
Observed security history for Denver International Airport (DEN) is listed by hour. It is not a live reading. The current hour is chosen in the browser from that table.
HomeColoradoDEN TSA wait times
Typical history
Denver International Airport TSA wait times
DEN · KDEN · Denver, Colorado
Security wait
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The current hour is filled from the observed-hour table in this browser.
Observed security history for Denver International Airport (DEN) is listed by hour. It is not a live reading. The current hour is chosen in the browser from that table.
Typical wait by hour
On Sundays, the quietest observed standard-lane hours are 1am (sample-weighted median 3 minutes) and 2am (sample-weighted median 3 minutes). The busiest observed hours are 10am (sample-weighted 75th percentile 29 minutes) and 11am (sample-weighted 75th percentile 28 minutes). Hours with no readings are left out, not treated as zero.
Standard lane only. Average and 75th percentile are sample-weighted from observed history. A gap means that hour had no readings.
PreCheck
Historical dataset includes a PreCheck lane.
CLEAR
CLEAR is not shown. We are not using a CLEAR source.
Departure delays
Historical on-time performance. Not a live delay.
76%
On-time departures, September 2025 through August 2026. A departure is on time when it left less than 15 minutes late.
Flights out of Denver International Airport left on time 76% of the time from September 2025 through August 2026. The largest share of delay minutes was late-arriving aircraft (44%). That is a share of delay minutes, not a share of flights. The average delay among departures that were 15 minutes or more late was 65 minutes. 1% of scheduled flights were cancelled.
The highest on-time month was November 2025 (83%). The lowest was August 2026 (67%).
| Cause | Delay minutes | Share of delay minutes |
|---|---|---|
| late-arriving aircraft | 2,115,301 | 44% |
| the airline | 1,565,725 | 32% |
| the national airspace system | 935,729 | 19% |
| weather | 199,600 | 4% |
| security | 4,962 | 0% |
Customs and passport control
International arrivals. Not TSA security.
The current hour is filled from the customs table in this browser. It is not a TSA security wait.
| Hour | Average | Published maximum | Passengers |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10am | 11 min | 26 min | 224 |
| 11am | 18 min | 48 min | 5,216 |
| 12pm | 14 min | 43 min | 4,504 |
| 1pm | 9 min | 28 min | 5,121 |
| 2pm | 9 min | 25 min | 4,851 |
| 3pm | 7 min | 19 min | 2,379 |
| 4pm | 9 min | 26 min | 6,083 |
| 5pm | 8 min | 24 min | 6,740 |
| 6pm | 10 min | 36 min | 10,691 |
| 7pm | 13 min | 31 min | 4,559 |
| 8pm | 7 min | 20 min | 234 |
| Hour | Average | Published maximum | Passengers |
|---|---|---|---|
| 12am | 1 min | 3 min | 6 |
| 10am | 13 min | 26 min | 133 |
| 11am | 13 min | 35 min | 3,516 |
| 12pm | 14 min | 40 min | 4,879 |
| 1pm | 9 min | 26 min | 2,819 |
| 2pm | 11 min | 34 min | 5,631 |
| 3pm | 10 min | 35 min | 2,730 |
| 4pm | 12 min | 36 min | 6,870 |
| 5pm | 9 min | 25 min | 5,762 |
| 6pm | 10 min | 28 min | 8,596 |
| 7pm | 9 min | 25 min | 4,111 |
| 8pm | 7 min | 18 min | 722 |
| 9pm | 7 min | 18 min | 328 |
| Hour | Average | Published maximum | Passengers |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10am | 11 min | 25 min | 260 |
| 11am | 15 min | 39 min | 3,175 |
| 12pm | 14 min | 35 min | 4,985 |
| 1pm | 11 min | 29 min | 4,596 |
| 2pm | 11 min | 33 min | 4,984 |
| 3pm | 10 min | 27 min | 3,377 |
| 4pm | 11 min | 31 min | 5,980 |
| 5pm | 9 min | 26 min | 6,314 |
| 6pm | 11 min | 36 min | 10,917 |
| 7pm | 9 min | 25 min | 2,086 |
| 8pm | 8 min | 17 min | 285 |
| Hour | Average | Published maximum | Passengers |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11am | 15 min | 41 min | 4,272 |
| 12pm | 18 min | 42 min | 5,102 |
| 1pm | 11 min | 29 min | 3,404 |
| 2pm | 8 min | 24 min | 4,043 |
| 3pm | 10 min | 29 min | 3,345 |
| 4pm | 13 min | 38 min | 4,845 |
| 5pm | 9 min | 29 min | 5,909 |
| 6pm | 9 min | 26 min | 6,228 |
| 7pm | 7 min | 19 min | 1,683 |
| 8pm | 7 min | 19 min | 803 |
| Hour | Average | Published maximum | Passengers |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10am | 14 min | 30 min | 121 |
| 11am | 15 min | 42 min | 2,803 |
| 12pm | 15 min | 42 min | 4,857 |
| 1pm | 10 min | 31 min | 3,699 |
| 2pm | 9 min | 28 min | 3,755 |
| 3pm | 9 min | 29 min | 2,832 |
| 4pm | 12 min | 38 min | 4,117 |
| 5pm | 9 min | 33 min | 7,310 |
| 6pm | 13 min | 46 min | 9,467 |
| 7pm | 13 min | 33 min | 3,391 |
| 8pm | 8 min | 20 min | 165 |
| Hour | Average | Published maximum | Passengers |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11am | 19 min | 49 min | 3,855 |
| 12pm | 14 min | 38 min | 3,917 |
| 1pm | 10 min | 31 min | 5,028 |
| 2pm | 13 min | 36 min | 4,310 |
| 3pm | 8 min | 25 min | 2,390 |
| 4pm | 12 min | 32 min | 2,899 |
| 5pm | 9 min | 25 min | 4,098 |
| 6pm | 8 min | 24 min | 7,555 |
| 7pm | 8 min | 23 min | 5,160 |
| 9pm | 15 min | 53 min | 886 |
| 10pm | 5 min | 12 min | 93 |
| Hour | Average | Published maximum | Passengers |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11am | 13 min | 33 min | 3,815 |
| 12pm | 11 min | 29 min | 4,494 |
| 1pm | 9 min | 26 min | 3,978 |
| 2pm | 10 min | 28 min | 5,785 |
| 3pm | 11 min | 34 min | 6,239 |
| 4pm | 12 min | 43 min | 7,593 |
| 5pm | 12 min | 37 min | 12,009 |
| 6pm | 10 min | 40 min | 12,043 |
| 7pm | 10 min | 27 min | 3,842 |
| 8pm | 9 min | 20 min | 429 |
| 9pm | 9 min | 22 min | 91 |
When to be at the airport
TSA's published guidance is to arrive at the airport 2 hours before a domestic departure and 3 hours before an international departure. That is guidance, not a measured security wait.
Nearby airports
- Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport BJC · Denver24 mi
- City of Colorado Springs Municipal Airport COS · Colorado Springs73 mi
- Cheyenne Regional Jerry Olson Field CYS · Cheyenne90 mi
- Pueblo Memorial Airport PUB · Pueblo109 mi
- Laramie Regional Airport LAR · Laramie113 mi
Distances are straight-line miles.
Airport details
- Runways
- 6
- Longest runway
- 16R/34L, 16,000 ft
- Longest runway width
- 200 ft
- Longest runway surface
- CONC
- Longest runway lighting
- HIGH
- Elevation
- 5,433.8 ft
- Control tower
- Yes
- CY2024 enplanements
- 40,012,895
- Facility use
- Public
- Ownership
- Public
- Part 139 certificate code
- I E
- Fuel
- 100LL,A
- Airframe repair
- MAJOR
- Powerplant repair
- MAJOR
- Last inspection
- 2025/08/15
- PreCheck
- Historical dataset includes a PreCheck lane.
FAA facility record date 2026/10/01. Runways: BTS NTAD Runways. Facility facts: BTS NTAD Aviation Facilities. Enplanements: FAA CY2024 commercial service.
Questions
Does TSACheck have a live security wait for DEN?
A live figure is shown only when the stored airport feed is fresh. Denver International Airport (DEN) also has observed history. A stored value that is too old is not shown as live.
How often do flights leave DEN on time?
Flights out of Denver International Airport left on time 76% of the time from September 2025 through August 2026. The largest share of delay minutes was late-arriving aircraft (44%). That is a share of delay minutes, not a share of flights. The average delay among departures that were 15 minutes or more late was 65 minutes. 1% of scheduled flights were cancelled.
What is the customs wait at DEN?
Customs and passport-control history is in its own section. It is not a TSA security wait. The current hour is chosen from that table in the browser.
How early should I get to DEN?
TSA's published guidance is to arrive at the airport 2 hours before a domestic departure and 3 hours before an international departure. That is guidance, not a measured security wait.
Which airports are near DEN?
The nearest airports in this list are Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport (BJC), 24 straight-line miles; City of Colorado Springs Municipal Airport (COS), 73 straight-line miles; Cheyenne Regional Jerry Olson Field (CYS), 90 straight-line miles; Pueblo Memorial Airport (PUB), 109 straight-line miles; Laramie Regional Airport (LAR), 113 straight-line miles.