It’s chaotic outside. Be ready.
By Chase DiBenedetto on March 26, 2026
Trying to staff airports with no pay, TSA is struggling to keep wait times down.
If you’ve been affected by hours-long TSA wait times or are a TSA agent working without pay during the federal shutdown, apologies. As of March 24, over 2 million travelers were going through TSA daily, facing up to 6-hour waits at the busiest airports. Over 480 TSA officers have quit in 40 days since funding lapsed, and 3,000 have called out. These agents, earning $35,000 yearly, missed two pay periods.
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The presence of ICE agents at terminals in the U.S., deployed by the Trump administration as a solution to understaffing, has worsened the situation. Flyers have reported ICE detaining people at San Francisco International Airport.
Major airports recommend travelers arrive 4 hours before flights.
Can I check TSA wait times?
Yes. Multiple sites and terminals track security wait times; download the MyTSA app to check. However, these websites aren’t always accurate, and most federally-run trackers aren’t updated during the shutdown. Third-party trackers, reliant on public APIs, may also be inaccurate.
Major airports, like JFK, have turned off their own trackers due to inaccuracies. JFK’s homepage shows an alert:
“Due to the federal funding lapse, security wait times may be significantly longer than normal. Wait times are subject to rapid change based on passenger volumes and TSA staffing. For these reasons, wait time reporting has been temporarily suspended. Please allow for significantly more time and check with your airline for the current status of your flight.”
With official avenues down, your best bet is fellow flyers. Reddit users on r/delta and r/airport, for instance, are sharing live updates and photos of current lines. Cities heavily affected by understaffing are updating TSA megathreads, like on r/houston and r/atlanta. Some take to r/TSA for advice directly from TSA staffers. TikTok has many people sharing their waits—these anecdotes might help with planning.
Can I make my wait shorter?
The advice is to purchase TSA PreCheck, a paid service allowing travelers to skip many security steps and wait in a different line. There’s also CLEAR for identity verification to skip ID checks. Both aim to speed up travelers, but users report long PreCheck lines, sometimes even longer than those for standard TSA. Airports like Bush Airport in Houston have closed PreCheck and Clear lines because of understaffing.
If flying without a RealID and no other ID, pay a TSA fee before the security line. This TSA ConfirmID Program requires more intensive checks, often outside general security lines, similar to TSA PreCheck. Anecdotally, a friend who flew out of JFK on March 21 got through TSA in about 30 minutes after being flagged for a TSA ConfirmID check.
What happens if I miss my flight?
Airlines typically aren’t responsible for missed flights due to security delays but recognize that airports are problematic. Allegiant Air is waiving cancellation and change fees for passengers affected by TSA understaffing. Delta issued a waiver for March 24 flyers out of Hartsfield-Jackson in Atlanta. United will rebook passengers out of Houston on March 23-24 at no cost and has waived “most” ticket change fees. Southwest said customers missing flights due to TSA wait times would be rebooked, no charge.
Topics: Donald Trump, Government
Chase DiBenedetto, Social Good Reporter, joined Mashable’s Social Good team in 2020, covering digital activism, climate justice, accessibility, and media representation online. Her stories explore these topics in politics, culture, and fandom. Sometimes she’s humorous.