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Some Airlines Urging MSP Terminal 1 Fliers To Arrive 3 Hours Early

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- Delta Air Lines is warning some passengers to arrive three hours early to the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport this weekend.

Part of the reason is the construction at Terminal 1. Unless you have TSA PreCheck, you have to pass through the north security checkpoint.

That means general passengers at Terminal 1 are down to one security checkpoint instead of two.

READ MORE: 'That's Awful': MSP Terminal 1 Travelers Without PreCheck Will Have Only 1 Security Checkpoint Amid Construction

This weekend will be the first holiday weekend that the new system is put to the test.

The lines may look bad, but they move quickly from what we saw. Viktoria McBride was on her way to Washington D.C. with her husband Cory for Labor Day.

MSP Airport Terminal 1 Construction Lines
(credit: CBS)

"Even for Christmas, I don't know if I've seen it this long," McBride said.

It took the McBrides 19 minutes to make it through the security line. When construction first started at MSP, the lines were worse.

"This week has gone more smoothly. TSA made some adjustments," said MSP Airport Spokesperson John Welbes.

Now, more TSA agents are working at the busy north checkpoint.

"The wait times this week have rarely been over half an hour," Welbes said.

We checked the TSA PreCheck line immediately after the McBrides made it through the general line. The TSA line was taking passengers about three minutes to make it through. Welbes says the busiest summer travel days are behind us.

"I think today is 40,000. A normal day is around 35,000, but we had days a couple weeks ago that were in the mid-40s," Welbes said.

But he also says it's still a good idea to get to the airport two hours early, especially in the morning.

"Talking to TSA here, and from what we've seen, we're still seeing the two-hour mark," said Welbes.

Construction is expected to last until December.

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