Airport Security Pet Peeve Survey

Search engine and flight comparison website Cheapflights.com recently revealed the results of its airport security pet peeve survey. This spring, the website surveyed more than 2,000 Americans about their experiences at airport security lines.

Fifty-four percent of those surveyed flew within the last 90 days and reported long security lines. Of those, 7 percent missed a flight because of the long wait time. It should come as no surprise 31 percent of respondents claimed waiting in line as their least favorite part of airport security. Taking off shoes, belts and other layers came in second with 21 percent of the vote. Reassembling belongings, getting patted down by TSA, having to pull apart luggage and separate liquids and full-body scans round out the list.

Once in line, 34 percent claim getting stuck behind unprepared travelers is the most frustrating part of long security lines. Too few open security lines frustrate 29 percent of respondents. Others believe there are too few officers at each checkpoint, TSA agents are too slow and dedicated TSA PreCheck staff aren’t assisting enough other passengers when they can.

At 30 percent, being unprepared is the most frustrating behavior among fellow travelers. The next biggest complaint is travelers bringing too much baggage through the checkpoint (14 percent). Rounding out the list: letting small children run around, engaging in loud cellphone conversations, trying to cut the line and not knowing security rules.

Despite complaints, 62 percent of those surveyed had no interest in signing up for the TSA PreCheck program.