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U.S. Airport Wait Times Reach Longest Levels in Over Two Decades
(MENAFN) Security lines at U.S. airports have stretched to their longest in the Transportation Security Administration's (TSA) 24-year history, with some checkpoints forcing travelers to wait in excess of four hours — a direct consequence of the ongoing Department of Homeland Security (DHS) shutdown, a senior official warned Wednesday.
Acting TSA Administrator Ha Nguyen McNeill told a House Homeland Security Committee hearing that absenteeism among TSA officers at several major airports has surged to between 40 and 50 percent.
"This level of disruption is unprecedented and unacceptable, and significantly undermines the security of U.S. transportation systems," McNeill said.
The human cost behind those numbers is stark. McNeill described workers struggling to cover basic living expenses — some unable to pay utility bills and facing service shutoffs, others receiving eviction notices, sleeping in their cars, or resorting to selling blood and plasma to survive. Since the shutdown took hold in mid-February, more than 480 TSA employees have handed in their resignations, she confirmed.
As hour-long security queues paralyzed major airports, lawmakers wasted no time assigning blame. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer fired off a pointed accusation on X: "Senate Republicans have now blocked TSA funding 9 times. They are solely responsible for the chaos travelers are experiencing."
U.S. President Donald Trump hit back, taking aim at the opposing party on Truth Social: "Blame the Democrats for the Airport's mess. They want our Country to do badly. They want our Country to fail."
The political impasse traces back to Democratic demands for reforms to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), prompted by the fatal shootings of two U.S. citizens by federal agents in Minneapolis in January. Republican lawmakers rejected those demands outright, triggering the deadlock that caused DHS funding to lapse on February 13 — and setting off a crisis that now shows no sign of resolution.
Acting TSA Administrator Ha Nguyen McNeill told a House Homeland Security Committee hearing that absenteeism among TSA officers at several major airports has surged to between 40 and 50 percent.
"This level of disruption is unprecedented and unacceptable, and significantly undermines the security of U.S. transportation systems," McNeill said.
The human cost behind those numbers is stark. McNeill described workers struggling to cover basic living expenses — some unable to pay utility bills and facing service shutoffs, others receiving eviction notices, sleeping in their cars, or resorting to selling blood and plasma to survive. Since the shutdown took hold in mid-February, more than 480 TSA employees have handed in their resignations, she confirmed.
As hour-long security queues paralyzed major airports, lawmakers wasted no time assigning blame. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer fired off a pointed accusation on X: "Senate Republicans have now blocked TSA funding 9 times. They are solely responsible for the chaos travelers are experiencing."
U.S. President Donald Trump hit back, taking aim at the opposing party on Truth Social: "Blame the Democrats for the Airport's mess. They want our Country to do badly. They want our Country to fail."
The political impasse traces back to Democratic demands for reforms to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), prompted by the fatal shootings of two U.S. citizens by federal agents in Minneapolis in January. Republican lawmakers rejected those demands outright, triggering the deadlock that caused DHS funding to lapse on February 13 — and setting off a crisis that now shows no sign of resolution.
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