APTOPIX Travel Delays

Stained-glass windows cast colorful shadows on the floor as travelers walk through LaGuardia Airport in New York, Monday, March 30, 2026.

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Airport bottlenecks ease as TSA workers get paid, but shutdown continues

Airport bottlenecks ease as TSA workers get paid, but shutdown continues

The Transportation Safety Administration says most of its officers received most of their backpay Monday for working during the shutdown. Weary travelers hope the overdue paychecks will end the hourslong waits in security at several major U.S. airports. Wait times began improving when the TSA workers were promised their first paychecks in weeks. Bottlenecks disappeared at airports in Atlanta and Houston on Monday. Houston's main airport went from a four-hour line just day ago, to a 10-minute wait. President Donald Trump on Friday ordered the Department of Homeland Security to pay TSA officers immediately to ease the lines.