A partial government shutdown is causing severe understaffing at airport security checkpoints, and it’s hard to predict if your wait time at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport will be five hours or five minutes.

The Atlanta airport is not currently sharing security wait times, because its system can’t accurately calculate lines past the checkpoint entries.

Estimates are normally based on passenger counts in queueing areas — and the system isn’t designed to estimate waits when the lines snake through baggage claim and stretch out the door.

Now, with the help of travelers, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution is collecting security wait times from users.

You can help by sharing your experience at atlwait.ajc.com and tell us how long you’re in line. Simply join the line when you get there and let us know when you’ve finished the security screening.

The dashboard below is not predictive. It displays the maximum user-generated wait times reported in the past 15 minutes, 30 minutes, hour and the longest of the day. The data updates every five minutes, but the situation may be different when you arrive to the airport.

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Travelers line up at the atrium approaching the Main checkpoint for security screening early Monday, March 23, 2026, at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. The airport was again the world’s busiest in 2025 with 106.3 million passengers. (Miguel Martinez/AJC)

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