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By Jenni Fink
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Air travelers across the United States are continuing to face long and unpredictable security lines as the partial government shutdown drags on, but with only a few days before Congress' Easter break, there's hope relief could come soon.
The shutdown has left tens of thousands of Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officers working without pay, triggering staffing shortages that have snarled airport security nationwide as spring travel ramps up. As callouts and resignations mount, some airports have closed screening lanes or consolidated checkpoints, leading to hours‑long waits for passengers, missed flights and mounting pressure on airlines and federal officials to restore funding to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
Normal TSA operations are unlikely to resume until the shutdown ends and workers are being paid again. That would require an agreement from Congress on DHS funding, as well as getting President Donald Trump on board with the plan.
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TSA officers have not been paid since mid‑February, prompting hundreds to quit or call out sick, according to DHS. Republicans are largely blaming Democrats for the problems, but Republican Senator John Kennedy of Louisiana told Fox News that Trump blocked a plan that would have sent paychecks to TSA workers "by the end of the week." Kennedy said that Trump said there would be "no deals with the Democrats" while rejecting the plan.
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The plan, put together by Kennedy and Texas Republican Senator Ted Cruz, would have accepted Democratic lawmakers' proposals on funding DHS, excluding U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Kennedy said.
Kennedy added that this would have been followed by a reconciliation bill to fund ICE, meaning Republican lawmakers "don't need any Democratic votes to do whatever we wanted to do with ICE."
With lawmakers talking about a potential deal and negotiations, there was hope that the shutdown could end before or shortly after Congress is scheduled to head out for its two-week Easter recess, which officially starts on March 30.
Unfortunately, that hope seemed to be short-lived after the Senate Democrats' weekly caucus meeting on Wednesday. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York threw cold water on the plan that included provisions to "rein in" ICE and Border Patrol. Schumer said the proposal doesn't have "any reforms on ICE."
Democrats want a ban on agents wearing masks and that immigration raids can only occur with a judicial warrant, two things Schumer said were not included in the recent proposal.
"The devil’s in the details," Democratic Senator Mark Warner of Virginia told USA Today. "But obviously, we want to get rid of those lines at TSA."
Negotiators from both parties have acknowledged that the airport disruptions are becoming politically untenable, particularly as spring and summer travel seasons approach. Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have called restoring TSA pay a priority, but both are blaming members of the opposing party for why the shutdown is dragging on.
Even if a deal is struck and pay for TSA workers resumes, it doesn't mean operations will go back to the way they were before the shutdown. After the 2018-2019 shutdown, the longest in U.S. history, TSA reported that unscheduled absences fell back to normal levels within days or weeks. The same was true of the fall 2025 shutdown, but the TSA has suffered long-term consequences.
While unscheduled callouts significantly dropped, the TSA also saw a drop-off in employees after the 2018-2019 shutdown and the most recent one a few months ago. More than 300 TSA employees have left the agency since the 2026 shutdown started and replacing them is a slow process because training takes from four to six months.
TSA workers will get backpay for the time they worked during the shutdown, but many people can't go weeks without earning money because they have bills to pay and people aren't interested in taking a job that could mean a lost paycheck whenever members of Congress can't agree.
TSA employees about 50,000 transportation security officers that are tasked with airport screening, so losing 300 people may not be a huge percentage of the workforce. But the TSA has spent years struggling with staffing shortages ahead of the shutdown, so they're already operating at a disadvantage.
Why Isn’t TSA Being Paid?
The TSA pay crisis is directly tied to the partial government shutdown affecting DHS, which began after Congress failed to pass a funding agreement. While TSA officers are considered essential employees and are required to continue working, they are not receiving pay until funding is restored.
That has created severe financial strain for the roughly 50,000 TSA officers nationwide. Unions say many workers live paycheck to paycheck, and missed pay has already led to increased callouts, resignations and early retirements.
According to federal labor officials, hundreds of TSA officers have left the agency since the shutdown began, while thousands more have called out of work on peak travel days. The result has been fewer open screening lanes, longer lines and mounting pressure on remaining staff.
Airline executives, airport authorities and travel industry groups have repeatedly warned that the situation is unsustainable. Several CEOs have urged Congress to pass legislation guaranteeing TSA pay during shutdowns, arguing that airport security should never become a bargaining chip in political disputes.
Is TSA PreCheck Working?
TSA PreCheck offers dedicated screening lanes where approved travelers typically keep shoes, belts and light jackets on and leave laptops and liquids in their bags. Under normal circumstances, TSA says people can make it through security with PreCheck in a matter of minutes. However, the shutdown has fundamentally altered how reliable PreCheck is on a day‑to‑day basis.
TSA has made clear that PreCheck lane availability is now determined airport by airport, depending on staffing levels. At several major hubs—including Houston, Atlanta, New Orleans, Philadelphia and New York—PreCheck lanes have closed temporarily or merged into general screening when call‑out rates surged.
In some cases, PreCheck lanes have remained open but offered little time savings. At Atlanta’s Hartsfield‑Jackson International Airport, PreCheck wait times reportedly stretched into hours during peak periods, matching or exceeding standard lanes.
TSA PreCheck can still significantly reduce wait times at airports with adequate staffing, but it is no longer a guarantee until the shutdown ends. Travelers with PreCheck are advised to check airport‑specific updates and arrive earlier than usual, even if they normally rely on expedited screening.
TSA Wait Time: How To Check
Under normal conditions, passengers can check TSA wait times with the MyTSA mobile app, which provides estimated wait times for standard and TSA PreCheck lanes at many U.S. airports based on historical data and traveler reports. However, the app shows an alert that the website is not being updated, so passengers risk the information being out of date.
Many major airports—including Atlanta’s Hartsfield‑Jackson, Dallas-Fort Worth, John F. Kennedy and Orlando—also publish live checkpoint updates on their websites. These pages often break down wait times by terminal and checkpoint, which can be especially helpful at large hubs with multiple security entrances. Many airports have stopped reporting TSA wait times on their websites.
Airports are advising passengers to arrive at least four hours before their flight, double the usual recommendation.
Congress has just days to come to an agreement on DHS funding to end the shutdown before Easter break and it's unclear if they'll be able to fix the problem by then. For now, travelers are being urged to plan for continued disruptions, arrive earlier than usual, and remain patient with frontline workers caught in the middle of a political standoff.
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