TSA staff shortages lead to hourslong security lines for travelers at some airports

Travelers struggled with hours-long security lines at some airports as officials warned of Transportation Security Administration staffing shortages amid the partial government shutdown.

Houston’s William P. Hobby Airport told customers Sunday to arrive as early as 5 hours before their flights, and warned that security wait times could exceed three hours.

The partial government shutdown has meant that TSA officers are working but without regular paychecks.

TSA callouts rose during the 2018-2019 government shutdown, prompting the closure of some checkpoints and leading to longer screening lines. It ended hours after a shortfall of air traffic controllers curtailed flights on the East Coast. The current shutdown, however, is affecting only Department of Homeland Security employees, including TSA officers.

Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, the world’s busiest, as well as Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport, said travelers should arrive at least 3 hours early because of the disruptions.

“Due to impacts from the federal government’s partial shutdown, there is a shortage of TSA workers at the security checkpoint,” New Orleans’ airport said on a post on X. “The Airport has staff on hand to help keep the lines organized, and we will continue to coordinate with our federal partners with the TSA as they navigate this issue.

Sunday’s disruptions rattled the airline industry and travelers just as the busy spring-break travel period gets underway.

“Airlines have done their part to prepare; now Congress and the administration must act with urgency to reach a deal that reopens DHS and ends this shutdown,” Chris Sununu, chief executive of Airlines for America, an industry group that represents American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Southwest Airlines, United Airlines, and others, said in a statement. “America’s transportation security workforce is too important to be used as political leverage.”

The disruptions come as airlines are grappling with the fallout of the U.S. and Israel’s attacks on Iran, which have led to thousands of canceled flights and driven up the cost of fuel, their biggest expense after labor.