Tips to Catch Your Flight As TSA Lines Stretched Hours at US Airports

Flying during a partial government shutdown is like playing a game of TSA line roulette.

A shortage of security agents at Houston’s Hobby Airport and New Orleans’ Louis Armstrong International Airport led to extraordinary security queues that stretched up to three hours on Sunday. The general line in Houston snaked into the parking garage.

Airports in San Juan, Atlanta, and Charlotte have similarly told travelers to budget extra time for staffing-related security delays after many TSA agents — deemed “essential” and required to work without pay during the shutdown — didn’t show up. Wait times at these airports were under 30 minutes on Thursday, but that could change with little notice as the busy spring break season goes into full swing.

Agents are expected to receive their first $0 paycheck this weekend, raising the likelihood that more fed-up agents will call in sick.

Henry Harteveldt, a travel analyst and the president of Atmosphere Research Group, told Business Insider that, for now, the TSA chaos appears localized to select airports where mass callouts collided with peak spring break travel. The US Travel Association estimated that a record 171 million people will fly in March and April.

Most other airports across the US are operating normally. Houston’s larger airport, George Bush Intercontinental, reported wait times as short as a few minutes Thursday morning; major hubs like New York, Boston, Los Angeles, Miami, and Dallas-Fort Worth were reporting 20 minutes or less.

Still, this hasn’t made the situation any less confusing.

Harteveldt said it’s likely the chaos will spread to other airports the longer security officers work without pay — with the coming missed paycheck likely motivating even more callouts, as seen during the full government shutdown in October and early November.

“We know from the last government shutdown that it’s difficult for TSA employees to work for a sustained period without any income,” he said. “So these individuals calling out or leaving to work a supplementary job that will provide some type of pay is completely understandable.”

Here are tips if you’re headed to the airport as the shutdown drags on.

Budget extra time

Between the partial shutdown and higher fuel prices due to the war in Iran, Harteveldt advised that travelers who haven’t yet booked should consider postponing until things are “calmer and more predictable.”

Consider taking a train or driving if you must travel. If you must fly, be sure to budget extra time for security, whether the airport is bottlenecked or running normally.

“Short-staffed airports may be less diligent in updating security wait times, so the 15- or 30-minute waits you see online may not be accurate,” Harteveldt said.

Houston Hobby Airport on Tuesday told passengers to arrive three hours early for domestic flights and four hours early for international flights due to staffing shortages at TSA.

Sally French, a travel analyst at NerdWallet, said she usually recommends travelers use the MyTSA mobile app to check security lines ahead of time, but warned it may not be accurate because it is not being updated during the shutdown.

Get in the fast lane

Travelers should check whether their ticket and the airport allow them to use security lanes that bypass the general line.

“If you can opt into the TSA’s Touchless ID, that may be faster, but it and other expedited lines still may be closed during the shutdown,” Harteveldt said.

Touchless ID is a voluntary system that allows enrolled passengers to enter security using facial recognition instead of showing an ID and boarding pass to a TSA agent. Eligible travelers must have a passport, an active airline profile, and be a TSA PreCheck member.

However, the feature is only available to passengers of participating airlines at certain major airports and may be unavailable during the shutdown.

French said people with certain airline status or who bought higher-fare tickets should check if they have access to expedited security lanes.

Some airlines allow people to buy separate access to speedier lines: United’s “Premiere Access,” for example, starts at $24 and includes an exclusive security line, though the perk is subject to availability.

Invest in TSA PreCheck

French said TSA PreCheck is among the most reliable ways to get through security faster: “I always recommend applying for TSA PreCheck; so many credit cards offer it as a benefit in that they cover your application fee.”

TSA PreCheck — which allows passengers to keep their toiletries and laptops in their bags, wear their shoes and jackets, and use a metal detector instead of full-body scanners — costs about $76 for a five-year membership.

It requires proof of US citizenship or residency, passing a background check, and completing an in-person interview.

Credit cards like the Chase Sapphire Reserve and the Capital One Venture offer PreCheck reimbursement. The quicker line typically requires fewer agents thanks to the less intensive screening — and it’s still open at most airports despite DHS briefly closing it earlier in the shutdown.

CLEAR, a privately owned security program available at most major airports, is another option. Enrolled travelers verify their identity using biometrics and are then escorted to the front of the line — similar to Touchless ID. It’s $209 annually.

Don’t bet on compensation from your airline

If long TSA lines make you miss your flight, airlines will often rebook you on the next available flight.

But that’s largely as much as airlines offer — the shutdown is out of their control, so any hotel or meal vouchers would be a goodwill gesture. Still, it’s good to ask.

Travel insurance and credit-card trip-delay coverage also usually won’t help, since they only cover events like bad weather or mechanical problems. Staffing issues aren’t always a covered reason. Passengers can also ask their airline about standby or refunds, but policies vary.

Bottom line: give yourself extra time and know your airline’s rules before traveling this month.