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Houston and Atlanta airports warned travelers to wait in line for four hours.
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Delta, United and Allegiant have waived some fees to give passengers the flexibility to rebook.
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Transportation Security Administration workers, who have not been paid due to the government shutdown, have been calling for unemployment.
Some airlines are waiving change fees for passengers affected by waiting hours at airport security.
Delta Air Lines, United Airlines and Allegiant Airways have made announcements to provide travelers with greater flexibility during the ongoing travel disruption.
TSA agents have been working without pay since February 14 due to the partial government shutdown. As a result, more people are claiming unemployment.
The Department of Homeland Security said as many as 10% of TSA agents were called out over several days last week. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents have been deployed to some major airports.
The government shutdown continues as Republicans and Democrats feud over funding for the Department of Homeland Security. Republicans want to increase funding for ICE by billions of dollars, but Democrats want to reform it after violence in Minnesota in January.
Here are the airlines offering exemptions:
Delta Air Lines
Delta Air Lines said in a travel advisory that travel from its main hub, Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport in Atlanta, “may be impacted” by longer security wait times. The airport recommends that passengers allow at least 4 hours for domestic and international security checks.
Delta passengers departing Atlanta on Monday or Tuesday can rebook flights on or before March 30 and have the fare difference waived.
Within one year after the ticket is issued, passengers can rebook without paying change fees, but they still have to pay the fare difference. Alternatively, they can apply any unused value of the tickets to purchase new tickets.
A Delta spokesperson said this only applies to customers on flights departing from Atlanta, not those connecting through the hub.
United Airlines
United Airlines issued an alert to Houston’s George Bush Intercontinental Airport, saying travel “may be impacted.”
Tickets purchased on or before Sunday for Monday or Tuesday travel can be rescheduled to United flights through March 31. “Tickets must be in the same class and between the same cities as the originally booked ticket.”
The airline did not immediately respond to a request for comment asking whether this was directly related to Transportation Security Administration staffing shortages. On Tuesday, a banner on the airport’s website said security wait times could exceed four hours.
Allegiant Air
Allegiant has announced a “Travel with Confidence” policy that will allow passengers with new and existing tickets to change or cancel flights for free after the partial government shutdown ends.
This includes “no change fees for eligible bookings” and “the option to cancel and receive a refund without penalty.”
JetBlue Airways
“All JetBlue fares are flexible except for Blue Basic flights, which means there are no change or cancellation fees for customers who want to adjust their travel plans in advance,” an airline spokesperson told Business Insider.
Passengers who miss their flights due to long security queues will be rebooked on the next available flight, they added.
JetBlue advised passengers to arrive earlier than usual and said it was working closely with the Transportation Security Administration and continued to monitor the situation.
southwest
Southwest Airlines said it will rebook passengers who missed their flights due to long Transportation Security Administration (TSA) lines for free.
The airline added that customers can also receive change waivers and “check-in baggage accepted prior to scheduled flight departure.”
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