David Shepherdson
March 8 (Reuters) – Wait times in security lines at some U.S. airports stretched to three hours on Sunday, as absenteeism increased among Transportation Security Administration workers and an increase in spring break travel amid the partial government shutdown.
On Sunday, Houston Hobby Airport reported that queues averaged 3.5 hours, and wait times averaged three hours at 4 p.m. ET.
New Orleans’ Louis Armstrong International Airport said: “Transportation Security Administration (TSA) security checkpoint staffing shortages are causing longer than average queue times. Passengers traveling today are advised to arrive at least three hours before their scheduled departure time.”
The Transportation Security Administration said wait times were also above average at George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston, Charlotte Douglas International Airport in North Carolina and Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport in Atlanta.
Funding for the Department of Homeland Security ended on February 13 after Congress failed to reach agreement on immigration enforcement reforms demanded by Democrats. This has halted operating funding for multiple government agencies, including TSA, leaving approximately 50,000 TSA airport screeners working without pay.
“Travelers faced Transportation Security Administration (TSA) lines of nearly three hours at some major airports, resulting in missed flights and massive delays during peak travel times,” the Department of Homeland Security said on Sunday. The department, part of the Republican Trump administration, criticized congressional Democrats for refusing to reach a deal to restore funding for the department.
The Department of Homeland Security said Transportation Security Administration workers “now face for the first time full back pay, resulting in financial hardship, absenteeism and severe staffing shortages.”
Last week, groups representing major U.S. airlines and travel groups said the government shutdown could disrupt spring break travel.
Chris Sununu, CEO of the Airline Industry Association of America, said airlines are expecting record spring travel, with 171 million passengers expected to fly, up 4% from a year ago.
“The concern is that they won’t take action until something really desperate happens and until we have long lines,” Sununu said Thursday.
Sununu said spring break travel will heat up as TSA workers receive their first zero paychecks on March 13.
Senior TSA official Ha Nguyen McNeill told Congress last month that approximately 1,110 Transportation Security Officers left the TSA in October and November 2025, an increase of more than 25% from the same period in 2024, following the 43-day government shutdown.
(Reporting by David Shepherdson in Washington; Editing by Edmund Klarman and Matthew Lewis)
