Name: Airport Security Lines Grow as Government Shutdown Leads to TSA Shortages
Uploaded: 2026-03-11T11:43:48.000Z
Description: Thousands of TSA workers are expected to work without pay during the partial funding lapse, which began Feb. 14, with many screeners choosing to skip work.

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American travelers on Monday faced a second day of long wait times at some airport security checkpoints caused by staff shortages stemming from the partial federal government shutdown.

<a href="https://x.com/flyneworleans/status/2030952799811355119?s=20">Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport</a> on Monday said a shortage of Transportation Security Administration (TSA) agents has led to “longer-than-average” lines, urging travelers to arrive at least three hours before their flights. Similar delays are anticipated through the week, the airport said.

<a href="https://fly2houston.com/airport-business/newsroom/articles/item/frequently-asked-questions-tsa-screening/">William P. Hobby Airport</a> in Houston on Monday also urged passengers to arrive three hours before their scheduled flight time to allow for extra screening.

Thousands of TSA workers are expected to work without pay during the partial funding lapse, which began Feb. 14, with many screeners choosing to skip work.

“The number of operational TSA screening lanes can vary from airport to airport and shift to shift, depending on how many agents show up to work,” the airport said, noting that longer security lines are expected until the federal shutdown ends. The wait times are expected to worsen during Spring Break, it warned, if the shutdown drags on.

Jessica Andersen Alexie and her children were among the travelers caught in the long lines at Hobby Airport in Houston as they tried to return home to New Orleans. Alexie arrived three hours early at the airport, only to find a long line and realize they would not make their flight.

“It was nuts,” she said. “It was crazy.”

The Trump administration has blamed the situation on Democrats for failing to fund the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), while Democratic lawmakers have maintained Homeland Security won’t get funded until new restrictions are placed on federal immigration operations following the fatal shootings of Alex Pretti and Renee Good in Minneapolis involving federal agents earlier this month.

“SECURITY LINES OUT THE DOOR,” DHS <a href="https://x.com/DHSgov/status/2030726477990461933">wrote on X</a>, while sharing video of the long lines. “Americans are now missing their flights because of the Democrats shutdown of DHS.

"Their political stunt is forcing patriotic TSA officers to work without pay—leading to financial hardship, absences, and crippling staffing shortages," it added.

Unlike the record 43-day federal government shutdown last fall, the impacts this time around affect only agencies that operate under Homeland Security, including TSA, U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP). But ICE and CBP operations will mostly continue due to billions in funding from President Donald Trump’s 2025 tax and spending cut law.

<em>The Associated Press contributed to this report.</em>

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