What is the TSA wait at SAN right now?
Observed security history for San Diego International Airport (SAN) is listed by hour. It is not a live reading. The current hour is chosen in the browser from that table.
HomeCaliforniaSAN TSA wait times
Typical history
San Diego International Airport TSA wait times
SAN · KSAN · San Diego, California
Security wait
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The current hour is filled from the observed-hour table in this browser.
Observed security history for San Diego International Airport (SAN) 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 0 minutes) and 2am (sample-weighted median 0 minutes). The busiest observed hours are 1pm (sample-weighted 75th percentile 8 minutes) and 2pm (sample-weighted 75th percentile 8 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.
73%
On-time departures, September 2025 through August 2026. A departure is on time when it left less than 15 minutes late.
Flights out of San Diego International Airport left on time 73% of the time from September 2025 through August 2026. The largest share of delay minutes was late-arriving aircraft (48%). 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 60 minutes. 1% of scheduled flights were cancelled.
The highest on-time month was January 2026 (80%). The lowest was August 2026 (62%).
| Cause | Delay minutes | Share of delay minutes |
|---|---|---|
| late-arriving aircraft | 695,029 | 48% |
| the airline | 375,472 | 26% |
| the national airspace system | 311,564 | 22% |
| weather | 56,731 | 4% |
| security | 3,004 | 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 | 15 min | 29 min | 131 |
| 11am | 18 min | 32 min | 1,363 |
| 12pm | 16 min | 32 min | 850 |
| 1pm | 14 min | 24 min | 1,123 |
| 2pm | 19 min | 37 min | 1,600 |
| 3pm | 20 min | 39 min | 3,092 |
| 4pm | 16 min | 30 min | 1,331 |
| 5pm | 21 min | 42 min | 1,214 |
| 6pm | 22 min | 45 min | 3,270 |
| Hour | Average | Published maximum | Passengers |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11am | 17 min | 31 min | 1,161 |
| 12pm | 12 min | 21 min | 740 |
| 1pm | 12 min | 22 min | 958 |
| 2pm | 18 min | 38 min | 1,478 |
| 3pm | 18 min | 36 min | 3,491 |
| 4pm | 21 min | 41 min | 1,720 |
| 5pm | 21 min | 37 min | 1,941 |
| 6pm | 25 min | 42 min | 1,854 |
| 8pm | 23 min | 41 min | 246 |
| Hour | Average | Published maximum | Passengers |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11am | 23 min | 45 min | 2,550 |
| 12pm | 21 min | 42 min | 1,466 |
| 1pm | 31 min | 59 min | 255 |
| 2pm | 17 min | 35 min | 895 |
| 3pm | 20 min | 41 min | 3,922 |
| 4pm | 19 min | 36 min | 1,171 |
| 5pm | 23 min | 41 min | 1,156 |
| 6pm | 21 min | 37 min | 1,458 |
| 11pm | 22 min | 36 min | 227 |
| Hour | Average | Published maximum | Passengers |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10am | 13 min | 26 min | 154 |
| 11am | 20 min | 33 min | 1,035 |
| 12pm | 19 min | 32 min | 391 |
| 2pm | 19 min | 35 min | 1,179 |
| 3pm | 22 min | 44 min | 4,236 |
| 4pm | 15 min | 23 min | 288 |
| 5pm | 17 min | 32 min | 1,496 |
| 6pm | 29 min | 51 min | 1,965 |
| 7pm | 26 min | 43 min | 629 |
| Hour | Average | Published maximum | Passengers |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10am | 20 min | 34 min | 292 |
| 11am | 23 min | 46 min | 2,821 |
| 12pm | 15 min | 28 min | 468 |
| 1pm | 10 min | 18 min | 567 |
| 2pm | 18 min | 39 min | 1,161 |
| 3pm | 21 min | 48 min | 3,677 |
| 4pm | 12 min | 19 min | 380 |
| 5pm | 22 min | 38 min | 1,320 |
| 6pm | 19 min | 36 min | 1,277 |
| 7pm | 17 min | 26 min | 65 |
| Hour | Average | Published maximum | Passengers |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10am | 17 min | 28 min | 270 |
| 11am | 23 min | 37 min | 1,080 |
| 12pm | 19 min | 35 min | 418 |
| 1pm | 11 min | 19 min | 742 |
| 2pm | 20 min | 38 min | 935 |
| 3pm | 22 min | 44 min | 3,669 |
| 4pm | 17 min | 31 min | 846 |
| 5pm | 19 min | 37 min | 961 |
| 6pm | 27 min | 51 min | 3,227 |
| 10pm | 26 min | 44 min | 371 |
| Hour | Average | Published maximum | Passengers |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10am | 16 min | 28 min | 145 |
| 11am | 20 min | 38 min | 2,601 |
| 12pm | 23 min | 41 min | 1,929 |
| 1pm | 16 min | 25 min | 960 |
| 2pm | 17 min | 32 min | 849 |
| 3pm | 23 min | 46 min | 4,604 |
| 4pm | 15 min | 30 min | 962 |
| 5pm | 24 min | 45 min | 2,567 |
| 6pm | 28 min | 58 min | 698 |
| 7pm | 18 min | 30 min | 196 |
| 9pm | 1 min | 2 min | 7 |
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
- McClellan-Palomar Airport CLD · Carlsbad28 mi
- John Wayne Orange County International Airport SNA · Santa Ana76 mi
- Palm Springs International Airport PSP · Palm Springs85 mi
- Long Beach International Airport LGB · Long Beach93 mi
- Imperial County Airport IPL · Imperial94 mi
Distances are straight-line miles.
Airport details
- Runways
- 1
- Longest runway
- 09/27, 9,401 ft
- Longest runway width
- 200 ft
- Longest runway surface
- ASPH-CONC
- Longest runway lighting
- HIGH
- Elevation
- 16.8 ft
- Control tower
- Yes
- CY2024 enplanements
- 12,780,013
- Facility use
- Public
- Ownership
- Public
- Part 139 certificate code
- I D
- Fuel
- 100LL,A
- Airframe repair
- MINOR
- Powerplant repair
- MINOR
- Last inspection
- 2023/06/30
- 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 SAN?
A live figure is shown only when the stored airport feed is fresh. San Diego International Airport (SAN) also has observed history. A stored value that is too old is not shown as live.
How often do flights leave SAN on time?
Flights out of San Diego International Airport left on time 73% of the time from September 2025 through August 2026. The largest share of delay minutes was late-arriving aircraft (48%). 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 60 minutes. 1% of scheduled flights were cancelled.
What is the customs wait at SAN?
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 SAN?
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 SAN?
The nearest airports in this list are McClellan-Palomar Airport (CLD), 28 straight-line miles; John Wayne Orange County International Airport (SNA), 76 straight-line miles; Palm Springs International Airport (PSP), 85 straight-line miles; Long Beach International Airport (LGB), 93 straight-line miles; Imperial County Airport (IPL), 94 straight-line miles.