Every airport security line has one person who ruins it for everybody. He walks up to the scanner with his belt on, his laptop buried under a week of dirty clothes, a full water bottle in the side pocket, and no idea where he put his ID. The whole line stops while he digs through his bag. You are standing there in your socks, watching your boarding time get closer, silently begging him to move.
You do not want to be that person. The spring of 2026 showed exactly how expensive that person can get.
The funding lapse that ran from February 14 to April 30, 2026, left TSA officers working without pay, and at least 1,000 of them quit before it ended. Officers calling out sick hit 11% nationwide, and on the worst days topped 50% at Houston Hobby and neared 40% at Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson. Lines at George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston ran past three hours. When a line is already that ugly, you really do not want to be the reason it stops moving.
Most of the mistakes that gum up the works are small. Every one of them is easy to fix before you ever leave the house. Here are the habits that turn you into the person everyone in line resents.
Have Your ID Out Before You Reach the Front
You need a REAL ID-compliant license, a passport, or another ID from TSA’s accepted list, such as an enhanced driver’s license or a military ID. Children under 18 do not need one. A boarding pass by itself will not do it, and plenty of people still try. Collin S., a TSA document checker interviewed by Reader’s Digest, said he knows of no US airport that still takes a boarding pass without an ID. If your license is not compliant and you have nothing else, TSA’s ConfirmID service will attempt to verify you online for $45, and it does not guarantee you get through.
Many airports now scan your ID through a machine that checks it against your reservation and spots fakes. That means the agent needs to hold your ID for a second, not just glance at it through the plastic window of your wallet. “Have your ID out and in your hand before you reach the front of the security line,” Collin said. Digging through a suitcase for it while everyone waits is a fast way to earn the groans behind you.
Empty Your Pockets Before You Get in Line
Coins, keys, a phone, a lighter, even a tissue you forgot about. Metal sets off the body scanner, and that buys you a pat-down and a walk back through the machine. Do not fix this at the bin. Empty everything out of your pockets before you even join the line, and drop it into your carry-on. A cheap zippered pouch from Walmart or the Dollar Tree works great for corralling loose stuff so it is not floating around a bin.
Pack Like You Will Have to Take It Apart
Laptops and full-size game consoles come out of the bag and go in their own bin. Liquids go in a single quart-sized clear bag, and that bag comes out too, with nothing over 3.4 ounces. The classic mistake is burying all of that at the bottom of your carry-on, which forces you to unpack the whole thing right at the scanner. Put electronics and liquids near the top or in an outside pocket where you can grab them in one motion. Newer CT scanners let you leave all of it packed, but you will not know which kind of lane you have until you are standing in it.
While you are at it, do not stuff the bag to the seams. A tightly packed carry-on is harder to search if an officer needs to open it, and that adds time to the line for everyone. Items that get pulled include liquids over 3.4 ounces, gel heating pads, and corkscrews with a blade. Liquor stronger than 70% alcohol is barred from checked bags as well as carry-ons. If you are not sure about something, check the “What Can I Bring?” tool on TSA.gov before you pack it.
Leave the Dog Alone
The dog sniffing bags at the checkpoint is not there to make friends. Abraham J., a TSA canine handler who spoke to Reader’s Digest, says people treat the dog’s closeness as an invitation to reach out. His animals are “single purpose,” trained only to detect explosives, not drugs the way people assume. Distract the dog and you could cause it to miss something dangerous, and you might get pulled out of line or told to wait behind a barrier.
He gets that the dogs are cute and hard to resist. Resist anyway. “There’s a high rate of stress and burnout with the front-line TSA workers,” he said, and a stranger grabbing at a working dog does not help. The dogs get plenty of belly rubs and games off the clock.
Never Joke About What Is in Your Bag
Cracking a joke about a bomb, a gun, or a knife at the checkpoint is one of the dumbest things you can do at an airport. Officers are literally looking for those things, and they treat any mention of a threat as real, even if you meant it as a laugh. A dumb comment can trigger extra screening, questioning, and law enforcement getting pulled into the situation. That can mean a missed flight or a lot worse. Keep the wisecracks for the bar past the gate.
Do What the Officer Tells You
Screening changes from airport to airport depending on the machines they use. One checkpoint wants your shoes off, the next does not. One sends you left, another opens a new lane on the right. Follow the signs and listen to the officer, even if it makes no sense to you. Arguing does not change the rules, and an aggressive attitude just gets a supervisor and more security staff called over, which slows down your line and yours alone.
Crowding is the other one that drives officers up the wall. “We ask passengers to wait behind the marked line to protect the privacy of the passenger before them,” Collin said. Standing on someone’s heels makes it hard for the agent to tell who is actually next, and it raises the odds of a shove or an argument. Wait behind the line until you get waved forward.
Wear Shoes You Can Kick Off
The TSA dropped the mandatory shoe rule from standard lanes on July 8, 2025, so you will often keep your shoes on now. Often, not always. Some checkpoints and extra checks still ask, and when they do, lace-up boots and buckle-heavy heels turn into a mess while the line backs up behind you. Slip-on sneakers or loafers you can step out of in two seconds are the smart call for a travel day.
Your outfit matters too. Bulky layers, a jacket loaded with pockets, or clothing that does not match the weather can draw a second look from agents who are trained to notice things that seem off. You do not need to overthink it. Just keep it simple, and skip the fifteen bracelets and the belt with the giant metal buckle if you want to move through fast.
Grab Your Stuff and Move
Once your bins come off the belt, do not stand there rebuilding your whole life at the machine. Scoop up your things, walk a few feet into the terminal, and put your belt, shoes, and jacket back on out of the way. Repacking right at the scanner blocks the people behind you from reaching their own bags. There is a bench or a wall spot a few steps down where you can sort yourself out in peace.
And put the phone down while you wait. People buried in their screens do not notice the line moving, so a gap opens up in front of them and everybody stalls. Blasting videos or music with no headphones is worse; it drowns out the officer’s instructions and annoys everyone in earshot. You will have all the time in the world to scroll at the gate.
The One Fix That Beats All of This
If you fly even a couple of times a year, TSA PreCheck is worth it. TSA says about 99% of PreCheck travelers wait less than 10 minutes at the checkpoint. A five-year membership runs $77.95 to $85 depending on which enrollment provider you use, which comes out to a little over a dollar a month, and renewals cost less. Several travel credit cards reimburse it: the Chase Sapphire Reserve gives a statement credit of up to $120 every four years, and the Amex Platinum up to $85 toward PreCheck. Check your card before you pay out of pocket.
PreCheck members keep their shoes, belt, and laptop where they are, which cuts out most of the fumbling that clogs the regular line. CLEAR+ is a different animal at $219 a year, and it speeds up the ID check rather than the physical screening, so without PreCheck you still do the laptop-and-liquids routine. For most regular travelers, PreCheck is the one that actually gets you through faster.
None of this takes a special skill. Have your ID in your hand, empty your pockets in the parking lot, pack your electronics on top, and follow the person in the uniform. Do that, and you are the traveler who glides through while everyone else fumbles. Skip it, and you are the person in the socks holding up the whole airport.
