BY MIRABLE ODETA
Travelers faced unusually long waits at several major U.S. airports on Sunday, with security lines extending up to three hours, as staffing shortages at the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) coincided with the start of spring-break travel.
Houston Hobby Airport reported the longest delays, with lines averaging three and a half hours at peak times. By 6 p.m. local time, wait times remained near three hours. Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport also advised passengers to arrive at least three hours before departure, warning that delays could continue throughout the week.
“TSA is experiencing a shortage of workers at the security checkpoint, which is causing longer-than-average lines,” the New Orleans airport said in a social media post. Travelers described lines snaking through terminals and spilling into parking lots, causing concern over missed flights.
Other airports reporting extended wait times included George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston, Charlotte Douglas International Airport in North Carolina, and Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. Several airports noted higher-than-normal absences among TSA officers on Sunday, intensifying the delays.
The staffing issues stem from the ongoing partial government shutdown, which began after Congress failed to reach an agreement on immigration enforcement reforms demanded by Democrats. Funding for the Department of Homeland Security lapsed on February 13, halting operational budgets for multiple agencies, including the TSA. Approximately 50,000 TSA airport security screeners are currently working without pay.
“Travelers are facing TSA lines of up to nearly three hours long at some major airports, causing missed flights and massive delays during peak travel,” the Department of Homeland Security said in a statement.
Airlines have warned that the situation is worsening as spring-break travel peaks. A trade group representing major U.S. carriers, Airlines for America, said Congress and the administration must urgently resolve the shutdown to restore normal operations. Chris Sununu, the group’s CEO, stressed, “America’s transportation security workforce is too important to be used as political leverage.”
Carriers are expecting a record-breaking spring travel season, with roughly 171 million passengers expected to fly in the next two months—a 4% increase from the same period last year. The situation is compounded by the fact that TSA employees will not receive their first paycheck on March 13, adding further strain to security operations.
The staffing shortages are part of a broader trend of departures among TSA officers. Ha Nguyen McNeill, the TSA’s top official, told Congress that roughly 1,110 transportation security officers left the agency in October and November 2025 following a previous 43-day government shutdown—a more than 25% increase compared with the same period in 2024.
With high travel volumes and limited staffing, experts warn that long lines and delays could persist, affecting both passenger schedules and airline operations unless federal funding and staffing issues are swiftly resolved.
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