Travelers today have more information available to them than ever, and, thanks to ever-improving technology, it’s right at their fingertips.

More and more, with smart devices of all sorts, air travel passengers can go online from just about anywhere to get tickets, check in, see the status of their flight, find a spot to park, and a place to eat when they get to the airport. That wealth of information affords them unprecedented control over their trips, giving them near real-time updates that allow passengers to make plans accordingly.

And, a big part of that is planning for the time it will take to get through the TSA security checkpoints at airports. Now, with new technology in place, travelers using the airports in Houston can get updates on the average time it will take to clear security before heading to their departure gate.

Beginning in 2015, the Houston Airport System initiated a project to update existing technology that uses Bluetooth signals to track the progress of passengers going through security checkpoints. Using that information, the program posts updates online on the Houston Airport System’s award-winning, mobile-friendly, passenger-focused website, fly2houston.com.

Investing in new cabling and sensors, the improved system has antennae in place that identifies signals from Bluetooth discoverable devices and follows those through entry and exit points at security checkpoints. The tracking is anonymous and uses a variety of filters to ensure both anonymity and accuracy, and then uses that data to provide an average time for travelers passing through the checkpoints.

The updates were in place in Terminal A at George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH) and at William P. Hobby Airport (HOU) earlier in 2016, and the rest of the checkpoints at Bush Airport came online in time for the 2016 Christmas holiday travel season.

Now, travelers can go to fly2houston.com and click on the “depart” tab to access the near real-time updates on clearance times at all seven checkpoints found at the five terminals at Bush Airport, as well as the checkpoint at Hobby Airport. For information at Bush Airport, check this link. For information at Hobby Airport, check this link.

It’s all part of the Houston Airport System’s enhanced digital tool box, a bevy of updated technological tools full of handy information. The fly2houston.com website focuses on the passenger journey — with tailored pages to fit the specific needs of departing, arriving and connecting passengers — and provides plenty of useful information and tips for holiday travelers.

As well as the TSA checkpoint updates, on the fly2houston.com website, travelers can find:

• Parking spaces available at both Bush Airport at this link, and at Hobby Airport at this link.
• Arriving passengers can find information about baggage pickup, transportation, dining and shopping, and helpful maps. For Bush Airport, learn more at this link. For Hobby Airport, learn more at this link.
• Connecting passengers can find information about getting around the airports, dining and shopping options and more. For Bush Airport, learn more at this link. For Hobby Airport, learn more at this link.

And, since the Houston Airport System’s facilities have some of the fastest free WiFi of any airport in the country, all of those tools are easily accessible to travelers once they get to the airport.