Nothing brings out your good manners to be patient like the long lines for customs at our nation’s largest airports. You can only wait! And, please – No unwanted attention to yourself in this situation.
Our airports are busy, busy and long waits are nothing new. An article from Business Insider states that in May of 2013, of our largest airports, JFK’s Terminal 4 had the longest average daily peak time wait at an unbelievable 93 minutes.
After a long flight you’re ready to stretch your legs, but not in a long line for customs, where your wait may be a fourth of the time it took you to fly home. Just a year before, the wait time at the same JFK terminal was 24 minutes less. Are more people traveling or is this part of the Federal staffing cuts? Either way, the lines are long and patience is short. How does your airport rate?
Airport peak wait times at customs May 2013 versus May 2012
| Airport | Average Daily Peak Wait Time May 2013 | Change | Average Wait Time May 2012 | Change | Processed Arrivals | Change |
| JFK Terminal 4 | 93.8 | 34.6% | 35.9 | 26.6% | 3,254,330 | 5.7% |
| Miami North Concourse | 75.1 | 23% | 30.2 | 18.6% | 4,407,006 | 1.6% |
| Miami South Concourse | 72.7 | 18.8% | 32.9 | 18.9% | 1,772,050 | 10.7% |
| DFW Main Terminal | 67 | 41.4% | 25.4 | 42.2% | 1,786,157 | 13.8% |
| Chicago O’Hare | 63.6 | 11.5% | 23.3 | 10.1% | 2,591,657 | -0.6% |
| Orlando Airside 1 | 57.2 | 41.6% | 25.5 | 34% | 509,932 | 50.1% |
| Orlando Airside 4 | 56.7 | 3.3% | 35.6 | 11.1% | 423,569 | -22.4% |
| Houston (IAH) | 55.3 | 0.9% | 21.9 | 3.8% | 2,524,803 | -0.5% |
| EWR Terminal B | 51.3 | 5.7% | 21.3 | 12.3% | 1,786,088 | -6.3% |
| SFO Terminal G | 51.1 | 6.4% | 24.8 | 9.4% | 1,504,823 | 4.9% |
| LAX Bradley Terminal | 47.2 | 5.7% | 21.7 | 17.9% | 2,957,861 | -2.8% |
| Washington Dulles | 45.8 | 17.9% | 15.1 | 23% | 1,934,889 | 0.7% |
| Las Vegas Terminal 2/3 | 44.9 | 14.1% | 23.8 | 14.8% | 489,591 | 6.6% |
| Atlanta New Terminal (F) | 38.8 | -25.3% | 13.9 | -33.4% | 1,608,385 | 1221.3% |
| Seattle | 34.4 | 26% | 13.7 | 29.8% | 780,386 | 9.8% |
| Atlanta Old Terminal (E) | 22.9 | -48% | 8.3 | -45.5%$ | 1,121,153 | -54.9% |
| Atlanta New Terminal (F) | 38.8 | -25.3% | 13.9 | -33.4% | 1,608,385 | 1221.3%
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Note: Wait times are in minutes. Sources: U.S. Customs and Border Protection and Business Insider
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