Hi Everyone! This is my first post on flyertalk. I am flying out of Oakland this evening just before 8PM and was wondering how the security check lines have been today. Is today a heavy travel day due to the July 4th holiday, or is it pretty slow?

Any info greatly appreciated!

first off-welcome to flyertalk! you're life as you now know it is over

but seriously...oak can be hit and miss and it also depends which airline you're flying.

southwest is all in one terminal (t2) and everyone else is in t1. i fly ua and i have seen the lines on normal days and holiday w/e's be anywhere from 5 minutes to a full hour. as for t1, i can only venture a guess but as to where it is southwest, the lines can be long.

i would allow a full 90 minutes, check in on-line and if checking bags, check them asap upon arrival-either with a sky-cap or at one of the machines at your airline's check-in counter.

now as to security itself....oak has been pretty good in my book as they seem to be pretty much on the ball (i don't remove my shoes due to orthotics and i get only a secondary pat down and swab of my shoes)

again, even if flying southwest, you should be fine-just follow what i mentioned above....allow 90 minutes and check-in on-line if at all possible.

now, n.b.: if you are taking bart and then the bart shuttle bus, allow another 45 minutes as it can take you only 15 but it is generally horrendous-have someone drive you and drop you at the terminal.

Not certain how accurate these are (they are from the TSA after all), but here is a link to the a security line wait time page

http://waittime.tsa.dhs.gov/index.html

Wow - if that link information is accurate, that's some amazing info! Thanks for the replies!

TSA posted times are averages and have nothing to do with the reality of holiday travel. Arrive early if you want to make your flt.
Contact your airline to find out if you flt will be on time. Ask for a local station contact number to determine if check-in/luggage/security lines are long.

and.... welcome to FT

At OAK the two terminals are connected airside so if the line at one checkpoint is huge and one is tiny go with the shorter one and take two minutes to walk airside to the other one.

This is no joke! Oh -- and welcome to FT!

I'm off for my flights! Actually, I've found OAK to be quite pleasant overall. The only "line" usually is from the cars trying to get to the terminals, and not the actual security check! Hopefully, today will be like any other and not like "holiday" travel. Thanks everyone and happy 4th!

and happy fourth to you but don't phorget to report back upon your return and let us know 'bout your 'sperience at oak.

Question asked and answered so, since this was a time and place specific thread, I'm closing it.

Just as a friendly reminder to our new posters, please make the title of your thread as specific as possible.

And let me add my welcome to FT for JenNjuice4.

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Cholula
Travel Safety/Security Forum Moderator