Government Shutdown Chaos: U.S. Airports Struggle with Severe Delays Amid Lengthy Security Lines

Airports across the United States are in disarray as massive security lines emerge, a direct result of the persistent government shutdown.

With TSA employees not receiving their paychecks, security wait times have ballooned to approximately two hours at airports nationwide.

At Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, the lines have grown so extensive that they now extend from the screening checkpoints all the way into the baggage claim area.

In Houston, at George Bush Intercontinental Airport, the line for TSA security snaked down an escalator, with wait times reaching up to 150 minutes.

New York’s LaGuardia Airport experienced lengthy queues as early as 4:50 a.m., with travelers overflowing into the parking lot as they waited.

The delays come as TSA staffing has been thinned by the shutdown, for which there is no immediate end in sight.

Agents have missed paychecks as a result, prompting a mass wave of callouts and even resignations that threaten to paralyze travel in the US.

As of this afternoon, 125 cancellations and more than 3,500 delays had been reported nationwide, per FlightAware.

Approximately 350,000 passengers to move through the Atlanta airport from yesterday, Thursday, through Sunday

Security waits for travelers reached around two hours on Friday, with the airport asking travelers to arrive up to three hours early or risk missing their flights

More than 1,000 TSA workers are employed Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, but many are calling out due to the ongoing government shutdown

The partial government shutdown comes from a congressional deadlock over funding for the DHS, which oversees TSA

Atlanta’s airport employs more than 1,000 TSA workers, but at least a third of those have been unavailable at times this week.

Travelers have been urged to arrive at least three hours early, beyond the usual two-hour guidance, to avoid missing their flights.

However, one traveler said that the plea for an early arrival did not seem to matter.

‘I don’t think it’s going to be enough,’ Sydni Greer, who was traveling to Los Angeles, told Atlanta News First.

Another passenger said that the havoc caused by the TSA pay stop was evident.

‘I was checking in, and I was like, ‘Oh, it’s already [been] an hour thirty,” Cristal Brown, who was flying to Boston, said.

The timing is especially bad because it coincides with the spring break period during which lots of flights cross through the busiest travel hub in the US.

On Thursday, the callout rate at Atlanta’s airport soared to 38 percent, WRDW reported.

Upcoming spring breaks across Georgia and major global sporting events like the Masters golf tournament and the upcoming FIFA World Cup could further strain the airport if the shutdown continues. 

The Department of Homeland Security has said that many TSA officers cannot pay their rent, afford gas or buy food

The TSA line at Houston’s George Bush Intercontinental Airport stretched down an escalator with waits reaching 150 minutes

As of Friday afternoon, 2,951 delays and 112 cancellations have been reported across the United States 

About 50,000 TSA workers have been working without pay since February 14 because the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is shutdown. 

At least 366 agents nationwide have quit their jobs, the DHS said.

A longtime TSA worker said going without pay prevented some agents from traveling to work or supporting their families.

‘Whether it’s ‘I can’t put gas in my car,’ ‘I have to take care of my children,’ ‘I have to pay my light bill so that my lights won’t get cut off,’ … those are the reasons that officers are not showing up,’ Aaron Barker, president of American Federation of Government Employees Local 554 in Atlanta, said, per the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

‘Officers are scared,’ Barker added. ‘They don’t know what to do.’

The partial government shutdown stems from a congressional deadlock over funding for the DHS, which oversees TSA.

Democrats want changes to federal immigration enforcement, which US president Donald Trump and congressional Republicans have not agreed to.

In turn, many TSA workers ‘are coping with eviction notices, vehicle repossessions, empty refrigerators and overdrawn bank accounts,’ Barker said.

‘The mental stress, it’s just unbearable,’ he added.

Airports with high average TSA callout rates during the shutdown include New York’s JFK International Airport, Houston Hobby and Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport 

TSA workers make about $50,000 per year on average. Many have been left unable to pay for gas or food due to the shutdown

A traveller at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport showed that he waited more than one hour to get past TSA on Friday

To date, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport has had the highest average callout rate during the shutdown so far at 21.5 percent.

One of the four domestic security checkpoints at the airport has been closed most of this week, prompting even longer lines at the remaining lanes.

On Thursday, three of the four checkpoints in the domestic terminal were shuttered, leaving just the main checkpoint open.

Other airports with high average TSA callout rates during the shutdown include New York’s John F Kennedy International Airport at 21.4 percent, Houston Hobby at 21 percent and New Orleans at 16.5 percent, according to the DHS.

Those airports were also increasingly seeing delays and travel problems right before the weekend.

In New York, JFK’s worst wait times on Friday afternoon were estimated at 35 minutes. 

The airport posted a notice on its website urging travelers to expect even longer delays: ‘Due to the federal funding lapse, security wait times may be longer during certain periods.’ 

Newark Liberty International Airport in neighboring New Jersey was experiencing wait times of more than an hour.

The DHS has said that ‘Democrats must end this madness’ to bring an end to the government shutdown that threatens to halt nationwide travel

As of Friday afternoon, Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey reported wait times of more than an hour

Wait times to get past security have reached around two hours in some airports around the US, such as Houston’s, after TSA workers’ pay was halted 

In Houston, the Bush Intercontinental Airport has been forced to reduce TSA and pre-check service due to to the shortage of agents.

Call-outs at the Houston airport reached nearly 41 percent earlier this week, according to CBS.

On Friday, a security checkpoint wait time of up to two hours was estimated and shown to travelers at the airport.

Earlier this week, disruptions were also reported in Chicago, Philadelphia, Denver and other airports on both coasts. 

The travel madness is expected to continue for as long as TSA workers do not get paid.

‘They can’t afford to come in and they’re going to quit altogether,’ Adam Stahl, the TSA acting deputy administrator, told WSBTV. ‘That’s a serious concern.’

The DHS has also said that many TSA officers cannot pay their rent, afford gas or buy food because of the current shutdown.

TSA officers earn about $50,000 per year on average, according to The New York Times.

Some were having to sleep at airports since they could not commute home, according to the agency, which said that ‘Democrats must end this madness.’

Call-outs at Houston’s Bush Intercontinental Airport airport reached nearly 41 percent earlier this week

The Trump administration has warned that the delays could get even worse unless lawmakers reach a compromise

Chicago O’Hare was among the airports that saw travel disruptions caused by the TSA shortage earlier this week. The Trump administration has warned the chaos could worsen

Some of the major travel hubs hardest hit by Friday’s delays and cancellations included Atlanta, Houston and New York

Earlier this week, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy warned that TSA workers will miss another payment on March 27.

‘This is gonna look like child’s play, what’s happening right now,’ Duffy told CNBC on Thursday. 

He said that small airports could shut down unless lawmakers reach a solution to end the travel chaos.

‘You’re going to see extensive lines, and air travel’s going to come to a grid halt stop,’ Duffy said.

The Daily Mail has reached out to the US Department of Transportation for comment on the delays and the shutdown.