Flyers across the U.S. are getting warnings about long airport wait times as the partial government shutdown leaves TSA agents unpaid. Agents refusing to show up after weeks without paychecks are resulting in lines that can last four or more hours, causing some to cancel their tickets and drive across state lines instead. This may be shortening lines in some areas.
No one knows how early to show up at the airport anymore.
Government shutdown causes airport chaos
The partial shutdown has denied TSA agents pay for over two weeks now, leading hundreds to quit. This resulted in ridiculously long lines at major airports, while others seem to function normally most of the time.
The Trump administration sent in ICE to help, but they didn't. Meanwhile, House Republicans balked at a Senate deal to end the shutdown and the resulting chaos, potentially drawing out the airport hell further.
Speaker Mike Johnson proposed a stopgap measure to temporarily fund the TSA, which Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer called "dead on arrival."
As Congress fights, Redditors post warnings from their local airports that lines could be four hours long.
"Due to current federal conditions, passengers are advised to allow at least 4 hours or more for domestic and international screenings," a notice shared by r/New-Adhesiveness8606 reads.
"Cannot believe this is real," the Redditor commented.
The went on to say that they considered driving instead, since that would add only one additional hour to their travel time if the notice was accurate. In an update, they reported that the TSA line took just an hour after they arrived four and a half hours early.
"Delta let me hang in the lounge early without penalty," they wrote.
"6.5 hours to get through TSA in MSY"
In the comments, fellow Redditors reported vast differences in their own airport wait times. Some endured lines for more than four hours, while others blew through in a few minutes.
"6.5 hours to get through TSA in MSY," said r/jerryberrydurham.
"2 minutes LAX," r/Scout_It_Down wrote.
Some think that early flyers are suffering more because so many people are heeding warnings and showing up hours ahead of their flights. Others theorized that it depends on the state, claiming that TSA agents in red states are more disgruntled than others.
It's hard to say who's right. Meanwhile, the delays are causing ripple effects.
"Increased numbers of passengers missing flights because of TSA means more passengers that need help at ticket counters, which is a much slower process than checking bags," wrote r/pridkett.
"All rental cars in the city were already sold out, and people were taking Ubers to Baton Rouge to get cars," reported unfortunate passenger r/No-Environment-7899.
All we know for sure is that folks are mad at the government.
"I f*cking hate it here," said r/jason242424. "We pay for TSA with our tax dollars why are we even paying taxes anymore?"
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