At airports around the U.S., travelers are confronting hours-long waits to go through security. Videos show lines filling airports and even at times stretching outside the buildings. Airport officials are now advising that if passengers want to make their flights, they should arrive at their terminal more than three hours early.
Speaking to a House committee on Wednesday, Acting Transportation Security Administration (TSA) Administrator Ha Nguyen McNeill said that airports are experiencing “the highest wait times in TSA history, with some wait times greater than four and a half hours.”
The air travel chaos that has mounted over the past couple weeks is a result of the ongoing partial government shutdown, which is driving widespread staffing shortages among TSA agents. Acting Deputy TSA Administrator Adam Stahl warned last week that if the shutdown doesn’t end soon, some smaller airports might have to “quite literally shut down.”
On Monday, President Donald Trump dispatched Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents to some U.S. airports to aid TSA officers in airport security operations—a controversial move that has sparked outrage from Democratic lawmakers. In a social media post on Wednesday, the President suggested that he may send more officers to airports, saying, “I may call up the National Guard for more help.”
The turmoil at airports has generated panic and uncertainty for people who plan to travel in the coming days and weeks. TIME is here to answer all your questions; here’s everything you need to know about the situation.
What is causing the TSA staffing shortage?
Funding for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) lapsed on Feb. 14, causing the department, which houses the TSA, to shut down for more than five weeks—and counting. Because TSA officers are considered to be essential workers, they’re expected to continue working during the shutdown, even though they’re not currently receiving their pay. But that’s led to high rates of staffers calling out of work at some airports, as some TSA officers have had to pick up second jobs in order to pay their bills. The staffing shortages among TSA officers have, in turn, led to significantly long lines to get through security at some airports.
On Sunday, more than 3,450 TSA officers called out of work, bringing the call-out rate to nearly 12%—the highest level reached since the shutdown began last month, according to Reuters. McNeill told a House committee on Wednesday that more than 480 TSA agents have quit their jobs since the start of the shutdown.
Which airports has ICE been deployed to?
On Monday, the first day that ICE officers were dispatched to airports, immigration agents were sent to 14 airports, according to White House border czar Tom Homan.
CNN reported that those airports include:
• Chicago O’Hare International Airport
• Cleveland Hopkins International Airport
• Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport
• William P. Hobby Airport
• John F. Kennedy International Airport
• LaGuardia Airport
• Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport
• Luis Munoz Marin International Airport
• Newark Liberty International Airport
• Philadelphia International Airport
• Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport
• Pittsburgh International Airport
• Southwest Florida International Airport
• George Bush Intercontinental Airport
This list may change in the coming days.
Why some airports can’t even report wait times
Many airports display security wait times on their websites to give travelers a sense of how busy the airport is. But in recent days, some airports have temporarily suspended this online feature.
“Due to the federal funding lapse, security wait times may be significantly longer than normal,” reads a message on the website for John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York. “Wait times are subject to rapid change based on passenger volumes and TSA staffing. For these reasons, wait time reporting has been temporarily suspended. Please allow for significantly more time and check with your airline for the current status of your flight.”
Call-out rates vary day-by-day and airport-by-airport, which makes it hard to predict on any given day how long wait times will be.
What are ICE agents going to do at airports?
Trump Administration officials said that ICE agents would be sent to airports that are reporting significantly long security lines to aid in airport security operations.
“Wherever we can provide extra security—I don’t see an ICE agent looking at an X-ray machine, because we’re not trained in that,” White House Border Czar Tom Homan said in an interview with CNN’s State of the Union on Sunday. “But there are certain parts of security that TSA is doing that we can move them off those jobs, and put them in the specialized jobs to help move those lines.”
In an interview with Fox News on Monday, Stahl said that immigration agents will be “conducting non-specialized security support—manning the exit lanes, crowd management, line control,” in an effort to “help alleviate the challenges that our officers are facing.”
Democrats, though, objected to the move, saying that ICE agents wouldn’t be able to perform the same tasks as TSA officers because they lack the necessary training.
“Untrained ICE agents lurking at our airports is asking for trouble,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said in a post on X on Sunday. “And it will make the chaos at our airports worse.”
ICE agents have been the subject of heightened scrutiny and concerns in recent months amid the Trump Administration’s aggressive immigration crackdown, particularly in the wake of federal officers fatally shooting two U.S. citizens in Minneapolis in January. Democrats’ demands that additional guardrails be put in place for federal immigration agents are at the center of the congressional standoff behind the DHS shutdown.
Trump and Homan have both indicated that ICE agents may make immigration arrests while assisting at airports, though Trump said when speaking to reporters on Monday that immigration enforcement would not be a primary focus for the agents.
“They love it because they’re able to now arrest illegals as they come into the country,” the President said. “It’s very fertile territory. But that’s not why they’re there. They’re really there to help.”
Civil rights and immigrant advocacy groups have raised concerns about ICE’s increased presence at airports. In a press release about the move, the American Civil Liberties Union advised people traveling either internationally or within the U.S. to “know their rights,” pointing travelers to a page in which the organization outlines people’s rights in different scenarios when they may encounter immigration agents at airports.
What you can do to reach your flight on time
Travel experts and airport officials are urging passengers to arrive at the airport earlier than they normally would. Some airports, including Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, have advised travelers to arrive at least four hours before their scheduled departure time.
It’s a good idea to check the status of your flight before you leave for the airport, in case there are any delays or cancellations.
What to do if you miss your flight as a result of the long security lines
If you miss your flight because you’re stuck in a long security line, contact your airline’s customer service line to rebook your flight. Some airlines are offering flexible rebooking options in certain situations because of the significantly long security wait times. Delta Air Lines, for instance, is waiving the fare difference for eligible passengers flying out of Atlanta, Georgia on Monday and Tuesday. It’s best to check with your airline what its policy is for your specific situation.
TSA Officer on the Impact of the Partial Government Shutdown
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