Travelers across the United States are encountering unusually long airport security lines as a partial federal government shutdown strains staffing at the Transportation Security Administration.
At several major airports, passengers have reported waiting hours to get through checkpoints, with some missing flights as security lines stretched into terminals and even parking areas. Airports in cities including Atlanta, Houston, New Orleans and Charlotte, North Carolina have seen wait times exceed an hour during peak periods, according to recent reports.
“Today, travelers are facing TSA lines of up to nearly 3 hours long at some major airports, causing missed flights and massive delays during peak travel,” TSA told USA TODAY in a statement. “These frontline heroes received only partial paychecks earlier this month and now face their first full missed paycheck, leading to financial hardship, absences, and crippling staffing shortages.”
Here’s what travelers need to know.
A partial government shutdown began in mid-February after Congress failed to pass funding for the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees TSA. Roughly 50,000 TSA officers are continuing to work but without regular pay during the funding lapse, raising concerns about staffing shortages and absenteeism as spring break travel ramps up.
Airports have already begun warning travelers to expect longer wait times. At Houston’s William P. Hobby Airport, for example, travelers recently reported security lines lasting more than three hours during busy periods. Officials there advised passengers to arrive three to four hours before departure to avoid missing flights.
Despite the disruption, DHS and TSA say one popular expedited screening program remains available. TSA PreCheck is still operational, allowing enrolled travelers to move through dedicated lanes and typically avoid removing belts and light jackets during screening. The agency reversed an earlier plan to suspend the program after pressure from airlines and lawmakers concerned about further slowing airport checkpoints, although officials warned that TSA PreCheck lanes could be closed on a case-by-case basis based on staffing during the shutdown. 
However, another trusted traveler program has been affected. Global Entry — which speeds up customs processing for international arrivals — is currently suspended during the shutdown, meaning travelers returning from abroad may have to use standard passport control lines instead of automated kiosks.
Travelers with PreCheck also have another option that can further speed up the screening process: TSA PreCheck Touchless ID. The system uses facial recognition to verify a passenger’s identity instead of scanning a boarding pass and a physical ID. Participating airlines allow eligible travelers to opt into the program, which can move passengers through security checkpoints more quickly at certain airports.
Travelers worried about long security lines can check real-time wait estimates before heading to the airport.
TSA publishes historical and live checkpoint wait-time information on its MyTSA mobile app and on the agency’s website, where travelers can search by airport and time of day.
Travelers should be aware that some information on the TSA website isn’t being updated because of the ongoing government shutdown, the agency said in a statement on Feb. 17. Banners on both the TSA and U.S. Customs and Border Protection websites warn that, “Due to the lapse in federal funding, this website will not be actively managed.”
That’s different from the last government shutdown that ran from October to November 2025, when TSA security wait times continued to update as usual.
This time, TSA confirmed to USA TODAY via email that both the MyTSA mobile app and the agency’s wait‑time tracker are down because of a partial U.S. government shutdown now in its fourth week.
The app is also supposed to show whether TSA PreCheck lanes are open. However, some airports also publish their own checkpoint wait times on official airport websites or social media feeds. Checking those before leaving for the airport can help travelers decide whether they need to arrive earlier than usual.
For now, industry groups warn that delays could worsen if the shutdown continues and staffing pressures grow during the spring travel surge. Travelers heading to the airport in the coming weeks may want to arrive earlier than usual, even if they already have expedited screening programs.
Contributing: Michelle Del Rey, USA TODAY

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