10 Things You Can Do While Waiting in the TSA Line

For more than 40 days and 40 nights, the US Congress failed to come to a deal that would restart paychecks for many Department of Homeland Security employees. The evidence is all over the country’s airports, in the form of hours-long waits to go through security.

Workers with the Transportation Security Administration have been forced to call out as they struggle to pay for gas, rent, childcare, and groceries, according to officials from the American Federation of Government Employees, which represents some 47,000 TSA agents. Nearly 12 percent of agents called out on Thursday, compared to a usual average of 4 percent.

On Friday, President Donald Trump signed an executive order directing DHS to pay TSA workers; the department said employees could see paychecks “as early as Monday,” though union representatives said it could take longer than a week for agents to receive backpay. (Congress still hasn’t voted to fund the department and fully reopen the government.) But it’s unclear whether airports can avert disaster over the upcoming spring holiday weekend. Record-setting long lines still snake around some of the nation’s largest airports.

So if you’re flying, show up early and be prepared to wait. Emphasis on “prepare.” WIRED’s got some especially WIRED-y ideas to pass the time.

Consider TSA PreCheck

Photograph: The Washington Post/Getty Images

Think of a line as a sort of ritual liminal space, a threshold specially made for contemplation. Ponder, perhaps, your mistakes. Top of the list: Not signing up for TSA PreCheck. If you’re already in line, it’s too late right now, but it need not always be so. Those who can swing the $80 fee—good for five years—get expedited boarding, and therefore the right to stand in the security lines that seem to be moving the quickest right now. The online sign-up process takes just a few minutes. What a great way to kill some time!

Applicants then have to sign up for (or walk into) 10-minute, in-person document check meetings at local Enrollment Centers, which are located everywhere from airports to local Office Depot and Staples locations. After that, actual enrollment can take anywhere from three to 60 days, the TSA says.

Read WIRED

You’re here already! Nose around. Check out our latest magazine package, The War Machine, which examines how technology has changed how the world fights and then tries to recover. Or head to the Gear homepage to read about the latest in gadgets and gadget trends. If you’re feeling more nostalgic, check out this list of some of WIRED’s best stories from the past 30 years.

Breathe Easy

Just because you’re nice and calm right now doesn’t mean that everyone around you is acting the same way. Escape with some deep breathing, your headphones, and, perhaps, a meditation app. Some options are right here.

While You’ve Got Those Headphones Out

Turn on a podcast! WIRED just updated its list of top ones. Best tech- and science-related recommendations include Flesh and Code, about the dark side of AI love; Your Undivided Attention, a pod hosted by tech industry veterans about the downsides to living online and how we might make it better; and Ologies, which delights in taking listeners down various scientific rabbit holes. Oh, and Uncanny Valley, WIRED’s insider look at the people, power, and influence of Silicon Valley.

Organize Your Photos

Is your photos folder a hellscape? Us too. What a great time to tackle the task of deleting what no longer serves you. Going through pictures one-by-one is always an option, but WIRED has also tested—and liked!—two apps to help phone users declutter. Rodeo organizes screenshots by location, and helps you organize reminders and lists to share with friends and family. Swipewipe is the Tinder for photos: Just swipe left to remove images from your phone forever ever.

Finally Figure Out How to Solve a Rubik’s Cube

Photograph: Getty Images

This one requires some forethought, but a Rubik’s Cube might be the perfect line-waiting companion. No flailing limbs, loud noises, or even screens. It’s just you, your fingers, and sheer geometric logic. Here’s our step-by-step guide.

Belatedly Hear the Gospel of Horizon Worlds (on Mobile!)

Meta’s Horizon Worlds is going through some weirdness, as the tech giant shifts away from its (titular) metaverse and VR bets to focus on AI. After announcing Horizon Worlds would be sunset in virtual reality, Meta reversed course just a day later. Whatever: It’s definitely around on mobile! Visit a comedy club! Make some friends! Avoid the children (unless you yourself are a child)!

Ski (Digitally)

There are plenty of mobile gaming options. WIRED senior writer Jeremy White especially loves Grand Mountain Adventure and Grand Mountain Adventure 2 (Android, iOS), open-world skiing and snowboarding games that take you to the most beautiful mountains and ski resorts to cliff hop, slalom, or even cruise the backcountry. We have more mobile game recs here.

Ponder the Line

Photograph: Vital Pictures/Getty Images

If you’d rather spend your time contemplating the world in front of you, there has perhaps never been a better time to learn about the theory behind perfect queues. There’s a whole cottage industry of crowd science consultants and scientists working out the math and psychology behind the most efficient way to get a bunch of people from here to there. Learn about them here, then consider how your own airport could be doing this better.

Disavow Airport Theory

Last year, TikTokers fell for “airport theory,” the idea that life could be better (?) and more relaxing (??) if flyers arrived at the airport as late as possible, rolling right through security to the boarding line. This gives us angina, and—look around!—feels like an especially bad idea right now. Here are other airport hacks to consider on your next trip, hopefully after Congress has decided to pay federal employees for their work.