You can now track security wait times at Philadelphia Airport
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Illustration: Annelise Capossela/Axios
Imagine knowing exactly how long it'll take you to get through airport security.
Driving the news: New technology at Philadelphia International Airport is tracking just that. A new queue management system, or QMS, is informing travelers about how fast security lines are moving at three of the airport's six security checkpoints — Terminals A West, A East, and D/E, per Billy Penn.
Why it matters: Planners and procrastinators can breathe easier knowing how much time they need to set aside — or how close they can cut it — to make their flights.
How it works: Sensors set up strategically along the security check lines are used to calculate the wait times, which are then displayed on dozens of monitors in the terminals and online. Wait times update every 30 seconds.
The big picture: PHL's new technology is the latest example of how aviation officials are trying to make travelers better informed after projecting a record number of people would pass through the country's airports this summer.
- The combination of bad weather and major airlines trimming summertime services have resulted in more delays for weary flyers.
The intrigue: The Federal Aviation Administration has started posting videos that explain what's causing travel delays in real time, writes Axios' Alex Fitzpatrick.
- The videos feature air traffic controllers speaking in layperson's terms, TV meteorologist-style.
What they're saying: PHL's wait time tracking system, which has cost about $2 million to implement so far, has eased foot traffic at the terminals, airport spokesperson Heather Redfern tells Axios.
- Nearly three-quarters of passengers surveyed in terminals D and E said they got through security "faster than expected," Redfern tells us — a more than 10-point jump since the program began in 2021.
- Redfern says they haven't seen bottlenecks resulting from travelers flooding lines with shorter wait times.
Yes, but: That's something airport officials will monitor as they add the technology to the three remaining terminals.
What's next: Airport officials expect to have the system in place for Terminals B and C by the end of the year, and by spring 2024 for Terminal F, per Billy Penn.