Travelers across the United States are encountering unusually long airport security lines as a partial federal government shutdown strains staffing at the Transportation Security Administration.
At several major airports, passengers have reported waiting hours to get through checkpoints, with some missing flights as security lines stretched into terminals and even parking areas. Airports in cities including Atlanta, Houston, New Orleans and Charlotte, North Carolina have seen wait times exceed an hour during peak periods, according to recent reports.
"Today, travelers are facing TSA lines of up to nearly 3 hours long at some major airports, causing missed flights and massive delays during peak travel," TSA told USA TODAY in a statement. "These frontline heroes received only partial paychecks earlier this month and now face their first full missed paycheck, leading to financial hardship, absences, and crippling staffing shortages."
Here's what travelers need to know.
A partial government shutdown began in mid-February after Congress failed to pass funding for the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees TSA. Roughly 50,000 TSA officers are continuing to work but without regular pay during the funding lapse, raising concerns about staffing shortages and absenteeism as spring break travel ramps up.
