Airport Airport

HOU Houston Hobby Airport TSA Times

( Terminal General )
IATA Code:

HOU

Timezone:

UTC/GMT -5:00 hours

Airport local time:

Thursday, 2:58am


Wait times are steady
Updated today, Thursday 7 May 2026
2:57 AM (UTC/GMT -5:00 hours)
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  • Data

    Qsensor makes use of data from Houston Hobby Airport.

  • Disclaimer

    Waiting times may not accurately reflect your experience. It is advisable to arrive at the airport well in advance and follow the recommendations of the airlines and airports.

  • Airport Last Updated

    2:57 AM (UTC/GMT -5:00 hours)

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  • Total average

    Wait Times by Day of Week

    Average wait times based on the last 3 weeks of data.

    7m
    Mon
    5m
    Tue
    6m
    Wed
    6m
    Thu
    7m
    Fri
    6m
    Sat
    8m
    Sun

    The wait time at 2 am for General is 5 minutes

    Based on data from the past 3 weeks.
    Current: 5 min (Similar to usual: avg wait time is 5 min)

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    Latest Airport Arrival Time
    Domestic 1h 25m before departure
    International 1h 49m before departure
    How we calculated this

    Bag drop closes 45-60 min before departure. With an estimated 25 min bag drop queue, you need to arrive at the desk 70-85 min early. After that, allow 7 min for security (avg on Thursdays) and 12 min to walk to your gate, which closes 15-20 min before departure. Finally, add a 15 min buffer.

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    Best & Worst Times to Fly

    Based on historical tsa wait times across all days of the week.

    Best Time
    Night
    9pm - 4am
    5 min avg wait
    Worst Time
    Early Morning
    4am - 8am
    9 min avg wait
    Flying in the Night instead of Early Morning could save you up to 4 minutes in tsa lines.

    Houston Hobby Airport (HOU) Travel Tips

    William P. Hobby Airport is Houston’s oldest commercial aviation facility, having opened in 1927, and is conveniently located just seven miles southeast of downtown Houston. Recognized as the only 5-star Skytrax-rated airport in Texas, HOU serves over 14 million passengers annually. The airport features a highly walkable, single-terminal design divided into a Central Concourse for domestic flights and a West Concourse for both domestic and international departures. Functioning as a massive operating base for Southwest Airlines, Hobby Airport is celebrated by travelers for its compact layout, budget-friendly flight options, and overall ease of navigation.

    Houston Hobby Airport FAQ

    CRITICAL ALERT: Due to an ongoing federal government shutdown resulting in 61,000 unpaid TSA agents nationwide, security wait times at HOU have recently reached 3 to 3.5 hours, with lines extending into the parking garage.

    HOU is highly recommended for downtown access. It is located just 7 to 11 miles southeast of downtown, making the drive approximately 15 to 21 minutes under normal traffic conditions. Conversely, IAH is over 20 miles north and can take 30 to 45+ minutes to navigate.

    HOU is overwhelmingly the better choice for Galveston cruises. It is located on the south side of Houston, making the drive to Galveston a straight shot down I-45 taking about 40 to 45 minutes. IAH is on the far north side, requiring a 70+ mile transit through heavy traffic that can take well over 1 hour and 15 minutes.

    Options vary significantly by budget and group size. Galveston Express offers shared public shuttles starting around $45 per person. Private small-party shuttles like Royal Galveston Shuttle charge around $30 per person. Flat-rate taxis like zTrip are available for $110 to $120 total per vehicle (accommodating 3-4 passengers).

    TSA Checkpoint Hours:

    • Main Terminal: 3:45 AM – 11:00 PM
    • TSA PreCheck: 3:45 AM – 8:45 PM
    • CLEAR:
      • Sun, Mon, Wed, Thur, Fri: 4:30 AM – 8:00 PM
      • Tue: 4:30 AM – 7:00 PM
      • Sat: 4:30 AM – 6:30 PM

    These hours may change based on airline schedules, so plan accordingly.

    HOU features a highly walkable, single-terminal design. You can typically walk from the central security checkpoint to the furthest gate in about 5 to 8 minutes.

    For on-site parking, the Red and Blue Garages cost $24.00 per day. Valet parking is $29.00 daily. For a budget option, the official EcoPark lot costs $10.00 per day.

    Yes, many frequent travelers note that the EcoPark lot is walkable to the terminal, allowing you to bypass the shuttle during off-peak hours.

    All Ride App pickups (Uber, Lyft, etc.) are located on Level 1 (Baggage Claim). You must exit through the glass doors nearest Baggage Claim Carousel 4 and proceed directly to Curb Zone 5.

    Take the Route 50 Broadway local bus from HOU to the Magnolia Transit Center, connect to the Green Line light rail to the Convention District, and then take the Route 500 Downtown Direct bus to IAH Terminal C.

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    Qsensor FAQ

    Live data: For the majority of the airports we track we use live data from the airport. For the remaining airports we provide a modelled projection, combined with crowdsourced data.

    Search: By airport name, IATA code, city, county, country or region. To save you time, we keep your last visited airports on the front page. If you can’t find an airport, contact us using the contact form and we will look to add it. 

    Current average wait time: The airport’s latest average security, passport control or customs queue wait time. If the airport has multiple queues, we display the average of them. If you want a more granular view that includes wait times for individual queues, take a look at the terminal level wait times. We regularly update each airport’s data,  but make sure you click the “i” icon to check when the last update was made.

    Terminal level wait times: The latest security or customs queue wait time for individual terminals. Click on the terminal to access more information at the terminal level. Please note that this data is not available for all airports. We are working to expand this functionality to as many airports as possible.

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    Add a security or customs queue wait time: How was your airport security experience? Contribute to the community by inputting your wait time. This feature is only available for airports where Qsensor does not automatically track data. To add a wait time, simply click the “Add Your Time” button on the airports page and follow the instructions.

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    Please note that this data is monitored and may be modified or deleted if found to be invalid.

    Click the “i” icon to view and take note of more contextual information on each airport. “Airport Last Updated” denotes the last time the data was refreshed.

    Our sources for wait time data vary and may include air travel data aggregators, federal agencies such as the TSA, CATSA CBP, or information from the airport and its affiliated service providers. For some airports, Qsensor utilises its proprietary queue modelling technology to project wait times. Additionally, we crowdsource data from passengers who have input their wait time using the “Add Your Time” button.

    Qsensor is not affiliated with any airport, airline, or associated service provider.

    We regularly check queue times and flight delays for accuracy, however all times are estimates and waiting times and delays may not accurately reflect your experience. It is advisable to arrive at the airport well in advance and follow the recommendations of the airlines and airports.

    There are a wide array of ways that queue data is measured. Including but not limited to looking at how long a passenger takes to get from scanning their boarding pass to exiting the security or customs area. Auditing passengers on how long it took them to pass through security or customs as well as Qsensors’ proprietary system for user added wait times. 

    For airport wait times, we currently support over 140 airports worldwide. Whether it be London Heathrow, Istanbul, or Miami – we have got you covered. More are added all the time. Is Qsensor missing an airport that you want to be supported? We are more than happy to accommodate your request, get in touch via the contact form. 

    For flight delays and cancellations, we currently support 12 airports, with the goal of expanding coverage going forwards.

    Qsensor automatically tracks wait times for a variety of airports including London Heathrow, Frankfurt, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta, Chicago O’Hare, Amsterdam Schiphol, Kempegowda Bangalore, Madrid Barajas, Hong Kong, Istanbul, and many more!

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    Get insights into flight on-time performance and make better travel decisions. Please note, this feature is not available for all airports, but we’re adding more all the time!

    To keep wait times relevant, the message “There is currently no data for this airport.” is shown when no traveller has recently inputted a wait time.

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