ATLANTA (AP) – The wait times at airport security checkpoints have become a guessing game during the shutdown of a single U.S. government department, with the daily attendance of Transportation Security Administration officers determining whether lines move quickly or stretch far outside terminals.<\/p>\n
Travelers at Houston\u2019s largest airport endured hourslong waits Thursday morning due to staffing issues, causing some to miss their flights or scramble to their gates.<\/p>\n
But at Atlanta\u2019s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, which a day earlier saw some of the country\u2019s longest security lines, officials reported largely moderate-to-low wait times. One checkpoint was closed due to low staffing, however, and lines during the early morning rush exceeded an hour.<\/p>\n
Experts said it\u2019s hard to predict where the lines will be the longest at any given time because much of the problem stems from TSA personnel not showing up for their shifts. The roughly 50,000 federal workers who screen passengers and bags have been working without pay while lawmakers fail to agree on funding the Department of Homeland Security.<\/p>\n
The shutdown is the third affecting TSA workers since the fall. Growing financial strain makes it harder for them to afford basics, like gas or childcare, while continuing to report for work, according to the American Federation of Government Employees, the union that represents most airport security screeners.<\/p>\n
Homeland Security has said at least 376 TSA agents have quit since the current shutdown began on Feb. 14. About 10% of TSA officers nationwide missed work each day between Monday and Wednesday, the department reported Thursday. The agency\u2019s employees saw their first income-free paydays last weekend.<\/p>\n
On Wednesday, airports in Atlanta and Houston saw roughly 38% of TSA officers call out of work, according to Homeland Security. Philadelphia International Airport said 33% of the TSA officers there reported they would not be in on Wednesday, while New York\u2019s John F. Kennedy International Airport saw an absentee rate of 25%.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is a very unfortunate situation and an extreme situation, and one that has been dragging on far too long, and is only likely to get worse,\u201d said Eric Rosen, director of travel content for the travel and finance site The Points Guy.<\/p>\n
Rosen urged travelers to check security line wait times at their specific airport, either on the airport\u2019s website or via its social media feeds. Some airports also specify which security checkpoints are open and closed, he said.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s useful information for the vast majority of travelers who are using the regular security lanes, he said. But given the current situation, programs that let people skip ahead can be hugely valuable. For example, when wait times hit three hours in Houston recently, getting through the TSA PreCheck line took 10 minutes, Rosen said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt can cut down wait times even during the best times when things are flowing smoothly, but right now we\u2019re seeing the true value of that,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Last month, DHS said it planned to suspend the PreCheck program during the shutdown, but it quickly canceled that plan. Global Entry, a U.S. Customs and Border Protection program that allows pre-approved, low-risk travelers to use expedited kiosks when entering the U.S. from abroad, was halted for almost two and a half weeks.<\/p>\n
Another option for shortening wait times is Clear+, a paid membership that allows users to bypass the line for getting their identities and boarding passes verified and to move directly to bag screening. The company declined to say whether it has seen an increase in members in the last month.<\/p>\n
But traveler Sara Oberton said Thursday that she and fellow Houston passengers at George Bush Intercontinental Airport\u2019s Terminal E were all funneled into one line, regardless of whether they had Clear+ or TSA PreCheck. An airport spokesperson declined to confirm specifics, saying only that the number of available TSA screening lanes can vary based on staffing levels.<\/p>\n
Oberton, a fashion blogger, said it took her three hours to get through the line, causing her to miss her flight to Los Angeles.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is pure insanity here in Houston,\u201d she said in a video posted on social media.<\/p>\n
Rosen, from The Points Guy, also had some advice for those who arrive at the airport hours before their flights but still find themselves in danger of missing them: Ask an airline representative if you can cut the line.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know it\u2019s a little cringe and I know it\u2019s a little uncomfortable,\u201d he said. \u201cBut it\u2019s not like showing up 20 minutes before your flight and expecting just to breeze through.\u201d<\/p>\n
That said, airlines aren\u2019t required to help passengers who are stranded because of the TSA staffing woes.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s not on them to make sure that you get to the gate on time,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
ATLANTA (AP) – The wait times at airport security checkpoints have become a guessing game during the shutdown of a single U.S. government department, with the daily attendance of Transportation Security Administration officers determining whether lines move quickly or stretch far outside terminals. Travelers at Houston\u2019s largest airport endured hourslong waits Thursday morning due to … Continue reading Where will TSA lines be the longest Friday? During a shutdown, nobody knows<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":65,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2851],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1489607","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-state-news-archive"],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-06-07 00:53:19","action":"change-status","newStatus":"trash","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ktbb.com\/post\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1489607","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ktbb.com\/post\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ktbb.com\/post\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ktbb.com\/post\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/65"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ktbb.com\/post\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1489607"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/ktbb.com\/post\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1489607\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1489908,"href":"https:\/\/ktbb.com\/post\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1489607\/revisions\/1489908"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ktbb.com\/post\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1489607"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ktbb.com\/post\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1489607"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ktbb.com\/post\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1489607"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}