Airport Security Lines Are Stretching Past 3 Hours During Spring Break Travel Rush—What Travelers Should Know

Security checkpoint wait times have stretched to more than three hours at some airports as the partial government shutdown drags on and the spring break travel season gets underway.

On Sunday, travelers experienced wait times lasting longer than three hours at Houston’s William P. Hobby Airport (HOU) and dragging out to over an hour at Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport (MSY), the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) confirmed to Travel + Leisure. Peak wait times also hit an hour at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL) and were felt at Houston’s George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH) and Charlotte Douglas International Airport (CLT), which each faced security lines of nearly an hour.

The partial shutdown has been going on for more than three weeks, resulting in potential staffing shortages.

“I’m not surprised that we’re now starting to see the ripple effects of [the shutdown] in the way of longer TSA lines due to the fact that there’s less people working… And unfortunately, we could see this each day,” Katy Nastro, a travel expert with Going.com, told T+L, adding, “Unfortunately, TSA workers have now not received pay, and that can really put a burden financially on these agents that are expected to show up day after day.”

With spring break kicking off in earnest, Nastro called this season the “perfect storm,” putting additional strain on the system.

“Families are traveling a lot more, and [there] is going to be a consistent uptick in the amount of people traveling for the next few weeks,” she said. “Because, as we know, spring break is not just one exact week out of the entire year, it’s a combination of weeks across a two month time period.”

Nastro added: “People are very understanding that your partial inconvenience of going through security is taking longer, but it is a drop in the bucket in comparison to the very full, anxious and burdensome reality for these TSA workers.”

To avoid headaches when flying, experts generally suggest travelers arrive at the airport at least two hours early for domestic flights and at least three hours early for international flights. However, travelers may want to time that even earlier during the partial shutdown. In fact, New Orleans’ airport recommended in a post on X all travelers plan to arrive at least three hours ahead of their scheduled departure, warning “delays could continue through the rest of the week.”

Travelers can check individual airport websites as some offer real-time updates for TSA checkpoint wait times.

With the airport delays, DHS called for Congress to fund the agency.

“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,” Lauren Bis, the deputy assistant secretary for public affairs at DHS, told T+L.

In addition to longer wait times, the popular trusted traveler program Global Entry remains suspended at airports across the country, resulting in potentially longer lines when re-entering the United States from an international trip.

To help ease the burden, Nastro recommended travelers download the Mobile Passport Control app, a free program that can often expedite the customs process. However, that may not always be the case.

“It’s not consistently going to be the end all time saver for everybody at every airport if they’re coming back into the country from an international trip,” she said.