US Travel Delays

A Transportation Security Administration agent checks a passenger's identification at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport on Saturday, March 21, 2026.

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For airline passengers, the shutdown answer is simple: Pay TSA officers

For airline passengers, the shutdown answer is simple: Pay TSA officers

Airline passengers are saying that Transportation Security Administration workers need to get paid. At Atlanta's mammoth airport, travelers are arriving up to four hours ahead of their flight departures. That's because they're worried about delays at security checkpoints. TSA officers haven't gotten a paycheck since the Department of Homeland Security partly shut down on Feb. 14. Staffing shortages have been forcing checkpoint closures at some airports. President Donald Trump is threatening to shift immigration officers into airport security. Homeland Security officials report rising absences and hundreds of TSA officers have quit during the shutdown.