TSA staff shortages lead to hourslong security lines at some airports
A traveling woman hands her travel documents to a TSA officer at Los Angeles International Airport on May 7, 2025.
Frederic J. Brown | AFP | Getty Images
Travelers grappled with hours-long security lines at some airports as officials warned of staffing shortages at the Transportation Security Administration due to the partial government shutdown.
Houston’s William P. Hobby Airport told customers Sunday to arrive 5 hours before their flights and warned security wait times could exceed three hours.
The partial government shutdown means TSA officers are working but without regular paychecks.
An increase in TSA calls during the 2018-2019 government shutdown led to some checkpoint closures and longer screening lines. That ended hours after a shortage of air traffic controllers restricted flights on the East Coast. But the current shutdown only affects Department of Homeland Security employees, including TSA officers.
Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, the world’s busiest airport, and Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport said passengers should arrive at least 3 hours early due to disruptions.
“There is a shortage of TSA employees at the security checkpoint due to impacts from the partial federal government shutdown,” a post on New Orleans airport X said. “The airport has staff to help keep lines orderly, and we will continue to coordinate with TSA and our federal partners as we address this issue.
Sunday’s disruptions shook the airline industry and passengers as the busy spring break travel season begins.
“Airlines have done their part to prepare; now Congress and the administration must act with urgency to reach an agreement that reopens DHS and ends this shutdown,” said Chris Sununu, CEO of Airlines for America, an industry group that represents airlines. American Airlines, Delta Airlines, Southwest Airlines, United Airlinesand others said in a statement. “America’s transportation safety workforce is too important to be used as political leverage.”
The outages come as airlines grapple with the fallout from U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran, which have canceled thousands of flights and increased fuel costs, the biggest expense after labor.
