Government Shutdown triggers hourslong TSA lines at Houston and New Orleans airports
Sunday at 9: 00 a. m. ET, the government shutdown collided with spring travel demand as thousands of travelers faced hours-long security lines at airports in Houston and New Orleans, with checkpoints run under the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The delays flared now because DHS has gone without funding since Feb. 14, leaving Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officers working without pay and airports warning of staffing shortages during a busy travel weekend.
Department of Homeland Security checkpoints back up in New Orleans and Houston
Photos and videos posted online showed long queues at security checkpoints at Louis Armstrong International Airport outside New Orleans and at William P. Hobby Airport in Houston. In New Orleans, lines stretched into the airport’s car park as travelers complained on social media about the wait. A traveler named Ben Brasch said he and a friend had been in line for 15 minutes and were still in the car park, adding that he hoped they would make their flight and that he felt bad for the airport workers dealing with the crowds.
Airport notices also signaled how long travelers could be stuck before reaching a checkpoint. Louis Armstrong International Airport said on social media that a shortage of workers was causing delays and advised travelers to arrive “at least three hours” before their scheduled departure. In Houston, William P. Hobby Airport warned that waiting times at security checkpoints could exceed three hours and advised passengers to arrive four or five hours before their flights.
Transportation Security Administration staffing strains worsen as the shutdown continues
The immediate driver of the long lines was limited security personnel at a time when more people were traveling for spring holidays. TSA officers must keep working because they are considered essential workers for public safety, even though there is no money to pay them during the funding lapse. As the partial shutdown continues, TSA employees have received partial paychecks since the funding ran out, but could go without pay if the shutdown continues; it is likely they will receive back pay after the shutdown.
DHS connected the delays to the effects of the lapse in funding, with agency officials warning that missed or reduced pay can translate into staff shortages. Lauren Bis, the deputy assistant secretary for public affairs at DHS, said going without paychecks has led to “financial hardship, absences and crippling staffing shortages. ” DHS also said “Americans are now enduring the severe fallout from the Democrat shutdown, ” while the Trump administration blamed Democrats for declining to pass funding without immigration reforms.
Congress and immigration reform disputes keep DHS unfunded after Feb. 14
DHS has gone without funding since Feb. 14 after Congress failed to reach an agreement, and the partial shutdown began three weeks earlier when Democrats refused to fund DHS without more restrictions on U. S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), another agency under the department’s jurisdiction. ICE will not be significantly affected because Congress already provided the agency funding, yet Democrats have been demanding reforms to ICE as part of any funding deal after federal agents killed two Minneapolis residents, Alex Pretti and Renee Good, who were protesting against the Trump administration’s immigration raids in Minnesota in January.
For travelers, the backups at two major airports were described as a preview of what could await other airports in the coming weeks if the government shutdown continues. Airports in New Orleans and Houston have already urged passengers to arrive hours earlier than usual, a sign that security capacity may remain strained as long as the DHS funding lapse persists during the spring travel season.
No end date for the DHS shutdown was confirmed Sunday, and airports continued using social media to urge earlier arrivals; the next immediate milestone for travelers is their scheduled departure time, with Louis Armstrong International Airport advising at least three hours’ lead time and William P. Hobby Airport advising four to five hours’ lead time for upcoming flights.
