Employees of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security missed their first full paycheck on Friday, a result of the partial government shutdown. That includes employees of the Transportation Security Administration. And that means lines at the airport are about to get worse.
TSA employs about 50,000 officers at airports around the country, and they were paid only about a third of their salaries two weeks ago. On Friday, they didn’t receive anything at all. CBS News reported that 304 TSA officers have quit from the time the shutdown started on Feb. 14 until March 9. It’s unknown how many may have quit in the past four days.
Six percent of TSA officers are reportedly calling out sick, as of Thursday, a number that’s expected to rise in the coming days and weeks. But the rise in call-outs is uneven across the country. Roughly half of the TSA officers at Houston’s Hobby Airport called out sick on March 8 and 9, according to CBS News, leading to over 3-hour delays.
Airports have sought to calm fears about the long lines when videos go viral on social media. A video of “crazy long wait times” at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport circulated early Friday on X, where people were “missing flights left and right,” according to a local TV news reporter.
Crazy long wait times at @AustinAirport. The line is out the door and people tell our crew there that they’re missing flights left and right. Leave early if you’re flying today!
🎥:@avabrendgord_tv pic.twitter.com/6A0Xy7XT8d
— Tom Miller (@TomMillerNews) March 13, 2026
Several hours later, the airport shared four videos on X that appeared to show very manageable lines.
Live look at Checkpoint 2👇 pic.twitter.com/ZY78lTSHBS
— Austin-Bergstrom International Airport (@AustinAirport) March 13, 2026
Conversely, the White House and the Department of Homeland Security are flooding social media with videos of long lines, blaming Democrats for the chaos.
"I don't even think the word 'busy' is right to describe what's going on at AUS airport…We've never seen lines like this."
Travelers are giving up and eating the cost of their tickets due to the outrageous airport security lines.
Democrats chose this by shutting down @DHSgov. pic.twitter.com/Fv9J0H5kKB
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) March 13, 2026
At issue is funding for an agency that includes Customs and Border Protection (CBP) along with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), which has been used by President Donald Trump over the past year as a secret police force. Democrats have refused to sign off on DHS funding unless some modest changes are made, including a ban on masks for most ICE agents.
Republicans have stood firm, refusing even the smallest changes that might reel in Trump’s masked goons. And there’s no sign that legislation will pass anytime soon. Democrats introduced a bill in the Senate that would fund the parts of DHS that don’t involve immigration enforcement on Thursday, but every Republican, along with Democratic Sen. John Fetterman, voted no.
In the meantime, TSA officers are struggling and taking second jobs in an effort to pay the bills. Once government funding is restored, they’ll receive back pay, but that doesn’t do much in the interim when it’s common for Americans to live paycheck to paycheck. Airports have been organizing food drives for TSA employees, with some airports even asking for help from the public. Denver International Airport asked people to donate $10 or $20 grocery store and gas gift cards.
❗DONATIONS NEEDED❗ Support the dedicated TSA employees working without pay by donating $10 and $20 grocery store and gas gift cards. Visa gift cards cannot be accepted.
Drop off locations can be found at Final Approach cell phone lot and in the Jeppesen Terminal. pic.twitter.com/DZPs5gMuoV
— Denver Int'l Airport (@DENAirport) March 11, 2026
When TSA officers quit, it takes considerable time to find replacements. Training takes four to six months, according to CBS News, and the pay is not great. The average TSA officer makes about $50,000 per year, below the median wage of about $62,000 per year in 2025. And with the rising costs of food and gas (the average for a gallon currently costs $3.63), the typical American’s dollar is being stretched thin.
TSA lost about 1,100 officers during the 2025 shutdown, which lasted a record 43 days. And while news of the long lines at airports has understandably gotten less attention with the hectic news cycle (President Trump launched a new war in Iran and there were two terror attacks on U.S. soil Thursday), expect to hear more about the partial government shutdown as air travel potentially grinds to a halt.
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