Travel
I went to Austin Mon-Thursday last week to see my sister and Mom 96.0
I heard wild stories about security wait times at both airports (JFK, Austin-Bergstrom) before I went.
My wait at JFK: five minutes.
My wait at Austin: twelve minutes.
I believe I understand why I missed the massive lines, and maybe it will help you if you're unfortunate enough to need to travel before the funding standoff is resolved.
1. Do not, under any circumstances, take an early morning flight
Those flights before 7 a.m. may seem super sexy because you'll have most of the day at your destination, but those are also the flights where security lines are, by far, the longest. 3+ hours at some airports. No matter how tempting they sound, just don't.
2. Late morning flights appear to be your best bet
Both of my flights left between 11-12 a.m. The lines were so short they barely existed. A TSA agent told me it was the best time, by far, to travel.
3. Get TSA Pre or Global Entry
At both airports, TSA Pre was still functioning. It can make an enormous difference, and it's much less stressful on a regular day. It's not expensive, and it's valid for five years.
4. Finding out wait times in advance is tricky now
Most airports have real-time updates on current security wait times (the one for JFK is fantastic), but those aren't being updated until the standoff ends. So it's not something you can check on from home.
If you do need to travel, good luck. I was lucky, but it's crazy out there.
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