Government Shutdown Impacts Airport Security

A partial U.S. government shutdown, initiated on February 14 due to disagreements over immigration enforcement, has led to staffing shortages and increased wait times at some airport security checkpoints across the United States. Approximately 50,000 Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officers have been working without pay since the funding for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which oversees the TSA, expired. While most major air-travel hubs have not experienced sustained disruptions, isolated incidents of long lines, such as those at William P. Hobby Airport in Houston and Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport, have been reported.

Wait times at other major airports on Thursday morning included less than 20 minutes at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport, no more than 11 minutes at Denver International Airport, and between two and 32 minutes at Kennedy Airport's five terminals. Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport also reported higher-than-normal wait times on Sunday and Monday, which have since decreased. Experts anticipate potential acceleration of staffing shortages after affected DHS employees miss their first full paycheck, leading to officers seeking second jobs or being unable to commute.

The shutdown has also seen over 300 TSA employees resign. While Global Entry, an expedited immigration processing program, was temporarily suspended, it has since been restarted. TSA PreCheck was also briefly suspended but quickly reinstated. Air traffic controllers are not affected by this shutdown as their employer, the Department of Transportation, has secured funding.