United Airlines Enhances Mobile App with Travel Tools

United Airlines has updated its mobile app with several new features designed to streamline the travel experience for passengers. The updates, announced yesterday, include estimated security wait times at major US airports and personalized walking directions to departure gates.

TSA Wait Time Estimates Now Available

The airline is now providing estimated security wait times at all of its US hub airports. This includes locations in Chicago, Denver, Houston, Los Angeles, New York/Newark, San Francisco, and Washington, DC. The feature covers both standard security lines and TSA PreCheck lanes.

Addressing Travel Disruptions

The addition of wait time estimates comes amid the ongoing partial government shutdown, which has previously led to concerns about understaffing and longer lines at TSA checkpoints. United aims to provide travelers with more accurate information to plan their airport arrival times.

More Features for a Smoother Journey

Beyond security wait times, the updated app offers several other benefits for travelers. These include personalized, turn-by-turn walking directions to gates, complete with estimated walking times.

Flight Accommodations & Travel Alerts

United will also send “heads up” notifications if the airline can hold a flight to accommodate passengers with tight connections. Passengers will also receive text alerts with radar maps showing potential weather impacts on their travels.

Self-Service Tools & Bag Tracking

The app also includes self-service tools for rebooking flights and requesting meal and hotel vouchers when necessary. A new “package-delivery-style bag tracker” provides real-time luggage location updates.

AirTag Integration

United has further enhanced its bag tracking capabilities by allowing passengers to “seamlessly share” the location of their luggage tracked with Apple AirTags. The airline first added support for Apple’s Share Item Location feature in December 2024, shortly after its initial release.