TSA Faces Staffing and Security Challenges Amid Government Shutdown

NEW YORK — Travelers across the United States are experiencing significantly longer security wait times at major airport hubs, including Atlanta, New York, and Houston, due to staffing shortages at the Transportation Security Administration (TSA). The disruptions come as TSA officers face a second missed paycheck this week due to the ongoing partial government shutdown.

Shutdown Impact on TSA and Air Travel

Andrew Leonard, a performing arts teacher traveling from New York to Seattle, experienced the delays firsthand, arriving at John F. Kennedy International Airport at 4:45 a.m. For a 7 a.m. Flight and only reaching his gate just before boarding. “I fly out of this terminal all the time and this is insane,” Leonard stated.

The current situation stems from the fact that over 50,000 TSA officers have been working without regular pay since the partial government shutdown began in mid-February. According to the American Federation of Government Employees, hundreds of TSA officers have resigned since the shutdown started. Previous federal government shutdowns in 2019 and late 2025 also led to travel disruptions due to absences of air traffic controllers, though their pay was not affected by the impasse.

ICE Agent Deployment

In an effort to alleviate the pressure on airport security, White House border czar Tom Homan announced on Sunday that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents would be deployed to airports on Monday to assist TSA. These agents will focus on tasks that do not require TSA’s specialized expertise, such as guarding exit doors to free up TSA officers for screening travelers. However, as of early Monday, ICE agents were not visible at checkpoints at Kennedy Airport’s Terminal 8, and the specifics of their deployment remained unclear.

Airport Disruptions

New York’s LaGuardia Airport experienced further disruptions on Monday morning following a collision between an Air Canada regional jet and an emergency vehicle on Sunday night. Some passengers opted to fly out of Kennedy Airport due to the issues at LaGuardia. The Federal Aviation Administration issued a ground stop at Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey, exacerbating travel chaos in the New York City area.

The travel industry has expressed strong criticism of lawmakers for failing to compensate essential government workers during repeated shutdowns that have caused travel disruptions.