Travelers are facing waits of two hours or more at many airport security checkpoints due to shortages of Transportation Security Administration (TSA) agents as a partial government shutdown enters its fourth week – just when many Americans are heading off for Spring Break trips.
From Atlanta (ATL) to New Orleans (MSY) to New York City (JFK), several airports across the country struggled to keep travelers moving through security over the weekend as staffing shortages mounted. But none were worse than Houston-Hobby (HOU), which saw hours-long lines on Sunday. By Monday morning, the airport estimated a three-hour wait getting through to the terminal.
Houston isn't alone.
In Atlanta (ATL), travelers saw wait times close to an hour or more on Sunday and again on Monday morning. It's worse in New Orleans, which warned flyers to expect waits of up to two hours to pass through security – and said those delays “could continue through the rest of the week.” The airport cautioned travelers to arrive at the airport at least three hours before departure.
While TSA PreCheck remains operational nationwide after an attempt last month by former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem to shut down that program and Global Entry before she was pushed out of office, some travelers with PreCheck and CLEAR+ are feeling the pain as checkpoints are overwhelmed. PreCheck lanes in Houston have been intermittently closed during the recent slowdown.
It's just the latest chapter in a slew of government shutdowns that have repeatedly put travel in the headlines. Again and again and again in these funding disputes, everyday travelers and frontline government employees have been used as leverage – a political pain point to try to force a funding deal in Congress.
For the second time in four months, TSA agents nationwide are working unpaid. Funding for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) lapsed last month amid a dispute over the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown in Minnesota, including the deaths of two citizens who were shot and killed by federal agents.
It's terrible timing for travelers as a Spring Break rush gets underway. Nearly 2.8 million travelers passed through security checkpoints nationwide on Sunday, according to federal data.
