Travelers across the United States are facing a spring unlike any other at airports, where security lines are stretching to record lengths and patience is wearing thin. The culprit? A partial government shutdown that began in mid-February 2026, leaving Transportation Security Administration (TSA) workers unpaid and sparking a cascade of staffing shortages at airports nationwide. As the shutdown drags into its sixth week, the impact is being felt from Atlanta to Los Angeles, with ripple effects that show no sign of slowing down.
On Saturday, March 21, 2026, passengers at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport—one of the world’s busiest—found themselves in a game of chance. According to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, security wait times at the main domestic checkpoint fluctuated wildly, with some travelers breezing through in under 15 minutes while others endured more than two hours in line earlier that morning. The unpredictability has become the new norm, and not just in Atlanta. As Business Insider reported, "Delays at TSA checkpoints across the US have been unpredictable in recent days, with some airports hit much harder and wait times varying from day to day."
The numbers paint a sobering picture. As many as 10% of TSA agents have called out on several days, with some airports like William P. Hobby Airport in Houston experiencing absence rates as high as 40.8%. These figures, shared by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), underscore just how dire the situation has become. Sheldon H. Jacobson, a professor of engineering at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and an expert on aviation security, explained to Business Insider, "The current unpredictability is being driven by unpredictable staffing levels, basically, how many TSA officers are showing up for work on any given day."
For travelers, the advice is clear but hardly comforting: Arrive early, and then add some more time for good measure. Major airports from Atlanta to Dallas-Fort Worth and Denver are recommending passengers show up as much as three hours before their flights—even for domestic departures. On several days, wait times at Houston’s George Bush Intercontinental Airport reached up to three hours. At New York’s JFK, lines ranged from 17 to 30 minutes on Saturday afternoon, but at Newark Liberty International, the wait stretched to 44 minutes before easing later in the day. LaGuardia, meanwhile, saw lines that, at their worst, snaked all the way to the parking lot, as reported by Fox News Digital.
The chaos has prompted some passengers to get creative—or desperate. In Atlanta, airport officials took to social media to warn about congestion in the international terminal, caused by domestic travelers attempting to bypass long lines in the domestic terminal by switching checkpoints. "We are seeing increased congestion at the International Terminal Checkpoint caused by domestic travelers attempting to bypass lines in the Domestic Terminal," officials cautioned in an X-post on Tuesday, March 17, 2026. The message was clear: If you’re flying domestically, use the domestic checkpoints. "At this time, wait times at the International Checkpoint are longer than those at the Domestic Terminal," the airport added.
Some travelers with TSA PreCheck are finding a silver lining in the agency’s new touchless ID program. This initiative, which uses facial comparison technology for identity verification, promises to speed up the screening process and reduce physical contact. According to the TSA’s website, participants must opt in by uploading their passport information through their airline. "When your face is all you need to verify your identity, there’s no fumbling with physical documents," the agency touts. Importantly, personal data is deleted within 24 hours of the scheduled flight departure. The touchless ID program is expected to be available at 65 airports by spring 2026.
Not everyone is so lucky. Many TSA officers are struggling to make ends meet as they work without pay. Joseph Cerletti, a TSA worker and union representative in Oakland, California, described the toll on employees to Fox News Digital: "You have cell phone bills, you have gas, you have groceries, you have car insurance. That [list] doesn't even account for rent or mortgage." He continued, "We deal with millions of people every day, and TSA [agents] have to make millions of right decisions every day. We have nearly 25 years [of] protecting this country. And funding TSA immediately would be good for the country." Cerletti didn’t mince words about the urgency, warning, "The longer this goes [on], the worse the situation is gonna get on a day-by-day basis."
The political response has been anything but unified. President Donald Trump, posting on Truth Social, floated the idea of bringing in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) workers to fill gaps left by unpaid TSA employees. His proposal came as some TSA agents have quit or stopped showing up to work since paychecks dried up in mid-February. Trump’s comments, as reported in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, were made amid ongoing Congressional gridlock over funding for the Department of Homeland Security. Meanwhile, Democratic lawmakers like Georgia Senator Jon Ossoff have criticized what they call a lack of negotiation and obstruction, arguing that workers should not be used as hostages in political standoffs.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy issued a stark warning on Thursday, March 19, 2026, telling CNBC that airport delays could get much worse. "As we get into next week and they're about to miss another payment, this is going to look like child's play, what's happening right now," Duffy said. He and Adam Stahl, the TSA's acting deputy administrator, both acknowledged that if the shutdown continues, some airports could be forced to close entirely.
The uncertainty is compounded by the fact that the TSA is not actively managing its own wait time sites during the shutdown. Many airports are posting live wait times on their websites, and the MyTSA mobile app provides estimated intervals, but these resources rely on historical data if live updates aren’t available. Denver and Seattle airports have even asked the public for food, gift cards, and basic supplies to support TSA staff working without pay.
As the shutdown grinds on, the impact is being felt in every corner of the country. From exhausted travelers in Miami and Las Vegas to overworked agents in Houston and Oakland, the message is the same: The system is buckling under the strain. "TSA funding needs to be prioritized immediately as [it's] a national security issue," Cerletti emphasized to Fox News Digital.
With spring break travel in full swing and no end to the shutdown in sight, Americans are left to wonder how much longer their patience—and the nation’s airport security system—can hold out.