The airport is now two airports. One for people who can pay their way out. One for everyone else.
The partial government shutdown has left roughly 61,000 TSA officers working without pay since February 14. More than 480 have quit, and callout rates have more than doubled — from around 2% before the shutdown to a nationwide average of 6%. At Houston Hobby Airport, 55% of staff called out sick on a single day. JFK hit 76% during a winter storm. Atlanta has advised passengers to allow at least four hours for security.
Philadelphia has closed three checkpoints entirely. Dallas-Fort Worth is telling travelers to budget two hours for domestic flights. This is happening during peak spring break travel season.
TSA PreCheck remains operational, though it's not immune to the chaos — some airports have temporarily closed PreCheck lanes when staffing gets too thin. CLEAR, the private biometric identity service that costs about $200 a year, lets members skip to the front of the document check line at the 60 airports where it operates.
Airlines have quietly become part of the solution too. Passengers with higher-fare tickets — including those who bought up to first class specifically to access premium lanes — are moving through security faster at some airports that offer dedicated check-in areas. Private aviation avoids TSA checkpoints entirely.
The inequity isn't lost on travelers stuck in standard lines watching others breeze past.
The shutdown is a standoff between congressional Democrats and Republicans over DHS funding. Democrats have pushed for new restrictions on ICE; Republicans have largely opposed them. The Senate unanimously passed a bill this month to end Congress members' own ability to skip TSA lines — an acknowledgment that the optics had become untenable.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy warned CNN that if a deal isn't reached: "You're going to see what's happening today look like child's play."
There's no timeline for resolution.