Revealed: The US airports where you're most likely to be delayed by security checks (and it's not the ones you think)

Passengers at a security check inside Denver airport, Colorado. Photo / 123RF

Hawaii's Kona International Airport has seen the most frequent security delays over the past decade

Hawaii is a destination where the locals embrace living on "island time" and it appears the laid back approach has spread to the airport.

New data has revealed that the state's Kona International Airport - which features an open-air, tropical-style terminus - has seen the most frequent security delays over the past decade.

Surprisingly, Atlanta, one of the busiest hubs in the world, wasn't even in the top 25 US airports where security checks causes the most number of delays.

An analysis by Time.com found Kona International Airport had an average of 17.58 delays per 1000,000 passengers from 2006 to 2015.

Hawaii's Kona International Airport - which features an open-air, tropical-style terminus - has seen the most frequent security delays over the past decade. Photo / Flickr, Mark Goebel

Recent time checks on the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) website, show that travellers were waiting up to 30 minutes at Kona airport to get through screening on certain days.

Wait times of more than 20 minutes were defined as delays in the Time.com investigation.

Other airports with lengthy security tailbacks were Ted Stevens Anchorage International in Alaska, LaGuardia in New York, Southwest Florida International and Miami International.

Seattle-Tacoma International and Newark Liberty International were the busiest airports with the biggest delays.

On the other end of the scale, Piedmont Triad International in North Carolina was found to have the least security delays.

The transport hub had an average of one hold-up for every 400,000 flyers.

San Francisco and Detroit were the largest airports with most quick-moving lines.

In total, Time.com looked at 118 airports in the U.S. that welcomed at least 500,000 travelers during 2015.

Overall, there were an average of 3.3 delays per 100,000 passengers in airports nationwide from 2006 to 2015.

TSA checks can cause significant delays as shown by the recent incident at Chicago O'Hare Airport, where thousands of passengers were delayed.

MailOnline reported that more than 400 passengers missed their flights on one night thanks to TSA security lines of up to three hours.

Some passengers were even left sleeping in cots overnight at the airport.

AIRPORTS WITH THE MOST SECURITY DELAYS 2006 - 2015

Rank - Airport - Delays per 100,000 passengers - Passengers in 2015

1. Kona International at Keahole KONA, HI - 17.58 - 1.5m
2. Ted Stevens Anchorage International ANCHORAGE, AK - 10.94 - 2.5m
3. LaGuardia NEW YORK CITY, NY - 10.26 - 14.3m
4. Southwest Florida International FORT MYERS, FL - 9.55 - 4.2m
5. Miami International MIAMI, FL - 8.90 - 21.0m
6. Buffalo Niagara International BUFFALO, NY - 8.53 - 2.3m
7. Burlington International BURLINGTON, VT - 7.77 - 581.1k
8. Long Island MacArthur ISLIP, NY - 7.60 - 603.6k
9. Lambert-St Louis International ST. LOUIS, MO - 7.36 - 6.2m
10. Austin-Bergstrom International AUSTIN, TX - 6.67 - 5.8m
11. Luis Munoz Marin International SAN JUAN, PR - 6.50 - 4.2m
12. Sarasota/Bradenton International SARASOTA, FL - 6.48 - 607.4k
13. Philadelphia International PHILADELPHIA, PA - 6.14 - 15.1m
14. Tampa International TAMPA, FL - 6.09 - 9.2m
15. Newark Liberty International NEWARK, NJ - 6.02 - 18.7m
16. Louis Armstrong New Orleans International NEW ORLEANS, LA - 5.99 - 5.3m
17. Bill and Hillary Clinton National/Adams Field LITTLE ROCK, AR - 5.80 - 958.5k
18. General Mitchell International MILWAUKEE, WI - 5.77 - 3.2m
19. Seattle-Tacoma International SEATTLE, WA - 5.71 - 20.1m
20. San Diego International SAN DIEGO, CA - 5.31 - 10.0m
21. Portland International Jetport PORTLAND, ME - 5.26 - 858.4k
22. Pensacola International PENSACOLA, FL - 5.20 - 787.9k
23. Westchester County WHITE PLAINS, NY - 5.09 - 757.4k
24. Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International BIRMINGHAM, AL - 4.95 - 1.3m
25. John Wayne Airport-Orange County SANTA ANA, CA - 4.63 - 4.9m

AIRPORTS WITH THE LEAST SECURITY DELAYS 2006 - 2015

Rank - Airport - Delays per 100,000 passengers - Passengers in 2015

1. Piedmont Triad International GREENSBORO, NC - 0.25 - 848.2k
2. Albuquerque International Sunport ALBUQUERQUE, NM - 0.31 - 2.3m
3. Hilo International HILO, HI - 0.31 - 627.2k
4. Blue Grass LEXINGTON KY, KY - 0.35 - 607.0k
5. Northwest Arkansas Regional BENTONVILLE, AR - 0.36 - 629.9k
6. Harrisburg International HARRISBURG, PA - 0.39 - 587.0k
7. Boise Air Terminal/Gowen Field BOISE, ID - 0.40 - 1.5m
8. Palm Beach International WEST PALM BEACH, FL - 0.42 - 3.1m
9. Portland International PORTLAND, OR - 0.51 - 8.3m
10. The Eastern Iowa CEDAR RAPIDS, IA -0.55 - 557.4k
11. Orlando Sanford International SANFORD, FL - 0.60 - 1.2m
12. McGhee Tyson KNOXVILLE, TN - 0.66 - 848.4k
13. Indianapolis International INDIANAPOLIS, IN - 0.68 - 3.9m
14. Richmond International RICHMOND, VA - 0.71 - 1.7m
15. Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County DETROIT, MI - 0.75 - 16.3m
17. William P Hobby HOUSTON, TX - 0.86 - 5.9m
18. Reno/Tahoe International RENO, NV - 0.89 - 1.7m
19. San Francisco International SAN FRANCISCO, CA - 0.94 - 24.2m
20. Dane County Regional-Truax Field MADISON, WI - 0.96 - 826.6k
21. Raleigh-Durham International RALEIGH-DURHAM, NC - 1.07 - 5.0m
22. Bob Hope BURBANK, CA - 1.08 -2.0m
23. Des Moines International DES MOINES, IA - 1.08 - 1.2m
24. Kansas City International KANSAS CITY, MO - 1.11 - 5.1m
25. Tucson International TUCSON, AZ - 1.12 - 1.5m