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Typical history

San Francisco International Airport TSA wait times

SFO · KSFO · San Francisco, 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 Francisco International Airport (SFO) 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 3am (sample-weighted median 0 minutes) and 4am (sample-weighted median 0 minutes). The busiest observed hours are 1pm (sample-weighted 75th percentile 6 minutes) and 11am (sample-weighted 75th percentile 5 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.

75%

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 Francisco International Airport left on time 75% of the time from September 2025 through August 2026. The largest share of delay minutes was late-arriving aircraft (46%). 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 69 minutes. 1% of scheduled flights were cancelled.

The highest on-time month was September 2025 (84%). The lowest was June 2026 (64%).

Share of delay minutes by cause. Not a percent of flights.
CauseDelay minutesShare of delay minutes
late-arriving aircraft1,111,64846%
the airline684,54928%
the national airspace system568,52423%
weather74,6423%
security1,1680%

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.

Sunday
HourAveragePublished maximumPassengers
12am6 min18 min353
5am23 min60 min1,374
6am15 min51 min10,909
7am15 min44 min5,989
8am17 min57 min9,278
9am16 min47 min10,808
10am17 min45 min11,717
11am13 min37 min14,852
12pm16 min39 min12,468
1pm14 min35 min14,582
2pm18 min51 min20,609
3pm15 min40 min13,170
4pm14 min39 min21,792
5pm12 min31 min10,738
6pm12 min30 min7,603
7pm15 min49 min16,313
8pm16 min48 min16,555
9pm17 min47 min11,580
10pm12 min31 min4,907
11pm9 min21 min3,764
Monday
HourAveragePublished maximumPassengers
5am24 min50 min618
6am13 min46 min10,900
7am13 min34 min6,321
8am18 min47 min8,492
9am22 min56 min11,355
10am22 min59 min12,166
11am18 min51 min17,458
12pm17 min42 min10,531
1pm15 min38 min14,960
2pm20 min62 min21,306
3pm16 min49 min14,950
4pm14 min43 min17,121
5pm13 min33 min10,927
6pm10 min22 min7,587
7pm12 min40 min12,796
8pm15 min47 min14,047
9pm17 min44 min9,436
10pm10 min27 min5,059
11pm10 min25 min2,708
Tuesday
HourAveragePublished maximumPassengers
12am8 min19 min359
5am20 min37 min695
6am13 min43 min12,265
7am12 min31 min4,828
8am13 min38 min7,533
9am15 min47 min10,112
10am16 min40 min12,285
11am14 min39 min16,777
12pm16 min39 min10,460
1pm15 min37 min11,341
2pm17 min48 min16,843
3pm19 min55 min16,752
4pm15 min39 min19,809
5pm13 min36 min11,484
6pm12 min30 min6,792
7pm15 min51 min16,198
8pm16 min48 min14,204
9pm16 min45 min9,423
10pm11 min33 min5,084
11pm10 min27 min3,547
Wednesday
HourAveragePublished maximumPassengers
6am13 min41 min12,249
7am15 min37 min4,533
8am14 min44 min5,611
9am17 min48 min11,044
10am18 min49 min12,803
11am20 min55 min14,820
12pm22 min47 min8,717
1pm18 min45 min13,505
2pm18 min55 min19,049
3pm19 min50 min12,547
4pm15 min45 min18,872
5pm15 min39 min8,822
6pm10 min26 min3,997
7pm15 min55 min13,379
8pm18 min57 min13,838
9pm20 min57 min9,800
10pm13 min35 min4,397
11pm12 min30 min2,408
Thursday
HourAveragePublished maximumPassengers
12am5 min10 min54
5am28 min48 min979
6am14 min44 min10,612
7am14 min44 min6,066
8am24 min59 min9,212
9am22 min61 min10,609
10am23 min62 min12,812
11am20 min52 min16,285
12pm17 min41 min7,016
1pm14 min37 min10,307
2pm22 min69 min22,381
3pm24 min64 min15,634
4pm15 min41 min12,990
5pm15 min41 min10,633
6pm17 min40 min12,842
7pm15 min49 min14,455
8pm21 min59 min12,877
9pm20 min56 min6,813
10pm12 min31 min3,117
11pm12 min31 min2,873
Friday
HourAveragePublished maximumPassengers
12am2 min7 min31
5am27 min54 min1,905
6am14 min46 min10,804
7am14 min38 min4,645
8am13 min41 min7,220
9am14 min39 min9,896
10am16 min42 min12,110
11am13 min33 min13,492
12pm12 min31 min8,453
1pm15 min42 min16,279
2pm19 min54 min20,272
3pm15 min42 min13,792
4pm13 min40 min16,014
5pm11 min27 min7,776
6pm10 min25 min8,410
7pm14 min50 min15,583
8pm18 min53 min15,787
9pm15 min38 min6,589
10pm12 min34 min5,958
11pm9 min22 min2,819
Saturday
HourAveragePublished maximumPassengers
5am18 min35 min1,629
6am14 min48 min10,258
7am16 min48 min6,848
8am19 min55 min8,940
9am22 min64 min13,634
10am23 min60 min16,280
11am17 min49 min13,399
12pm18 min38 min10,523
1pm15 min45 min14,475
2pm20 min55 min20,982
3pm20 min53 min13,801
4pm15 min43 min20,548
5pm13 min35 min12,586
6pm13 min30 min9,706
7pm12 min36 min13,119
8pm20 min60 min17,709
9pm18 min51 min10,471
10pm12 min30 min4,887
11pm10 min28 min3,397

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.

Your flight

Enter a departure time to calculate when to be at the airport.

This subtracts TSA's published arrival guidance from the time you enter. It is not a drive time, and it is not a predicted security wait.

Nearby airports

Distances are straight-line miles.

Airport details
Runways
4
Longest runway
10L/28R, 11,870 ft
Longest runway width
200 ft
Longest runway surface
ASPH
Longest runway lighting
HIGH
Elevation
13.1 ft
Control tower
Yes
CY2024 enplanements
25,078,968
Facility use
Public
Ownership
Public
Part 139 certificate code
I E
Fuel
100LL,A,A++
Last inspection
2026/07/17
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

What is the TSA wait at SFO right now?

Observed security history for San Francisco International Airport (SFO) is listed by hour. It is not a live reading. The current hour is chosen in the browser from that table.

Does TSACheck have a live security wait for SFO?

A live figure is shown only when the stored airport feed is fresh. San Francisco International Airport (SFO) also has observed history. A stored value that is too old is not shown as live.

How often do flights leave SFO on time?

Flights out of San Francisco International Airport left on time 75% of the time from September 2025 through August 2026. The largest share of delay minutes was late-arriving aircraft (46%). 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 69 minutes. 1% of scheduled flights were cancelled.

What is the customs wait at SFO?

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 SFO?

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 SFO?

The nearest airports in this list are San Carlos Airport (SQL), 10 straight-line miles; Oakland San Francisco Bay Airport (OAK), 11 straight-line miles; Mineta San Jose International Airport (SJC), 30 straight-line miles; Buchanan Field (CCR), 31 straight-line miles; Stockton Metropolitan Airport (SCK), 65 straight-line miles.