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When St. Louis Lambert (STL) is busiest at security

At St. Louis Lambert International Airport in St Louis, MO, the busiest hour at security is 7 am to 8 am, local time, when about 9.1% of the day's screened passengers pass through. The busiest three hours in a row are 5 am to 8 am, carrying 24% of the day.

7 amBusiest hour (starts at)
24%Of the day in the busiest 3 hours, 5 am to 8 am
ThursdayBusiest day. Saturday is the lightest.
18,959Passengers screened per day, on average

Share of the day's passengers, by hour

St. Louis Lambert: share of the day's screened passengers, by hour12am3am6am9.1%9am12pm3pm6pm0.2%9pm

Busiest hourLightest hour between 6 am and 10 pmOther hours

Between 6 am and 10 pm, the lightest hour is 9 pm to 10 pm, with 0.2% of the day. Hours before 6 am carry few passengers at most airports, but many checkpoints are closed or limited then, so a quiet count there is not a reason to turn up early.

Which day of the week

DayScreened per dayCompared with the average dayBusiest hour
Monday 19,575 +3% 7 am to 8 am
Tuesday 16,299 -14% 7 am to 8 am
Wednesday 18,342 -3% 7 am to 8 am
Thursday 21,200 +12% 7 am to 8 am
Friday 21,062 +11% 7 am to 8 am
Saturday 16,104 -15% 7 am to 8 am
Sunday 20,131 +6% 7 am to 8 am
Counts of people, not minutes of waiting. The Transportation Security Administration publishes how many passengers it screened each hour. It does not publish wait times in this data, so we cannot tell you how long a line will take. Use this to see when the airport is heaviest, then follow your airline's advice on how early to arrive. This page uses 119 days of counts between May 10, 2026 to October 10, 2026, so it reflects May to early October, not winter or the main holiday periods.

How these figures are built is on the methodology page.