Airport lines ease, but TSA turmoil exposes deeper funding gaps

Security lines at US airports are starting to shorten after weeks of disruption, but the underlying issues that caused the chaos are still in place.

The immediate pressure eased after President Donald Trump signed an emergency directive to begin paying Transportation Security Administration (TSA) workers, many of whom had been working without pay during the ongoing partial government shutdown. At major hubs like New York’s JFK, Houston’s George Bush Intercontinental, and Baltimore’s Thurgood Marshall Airport, wait times have dropped to under 30 minutes.

But the recovery is uneven. At LaGuardia Airport in New York, lines were still reaching up to 90 minutes at Terminal B as of Monday afternoon, showing how fragile the system remains.

The disruption has already had a measurable impact on staffing. More than 500 TSA officers have left the agency during the latest funding lapse, according to TSA data.

Attendance figures during the peak of the disruption reflected the strain. Over the weekend, TSA agents called out at record levels, with 12.35 percent absent on Friday and 10.59 percent on Saturday, according to the Department of Homeland Security.

Officials say pay is now beginning to flow again. Homeland Security spokesperson Lauren Bis said TSA had “immediately begun the process of paying its workforce”, adding that officers could start receiving paycheques “as early as today”.

“TSA officers are grateful to the president and secretary for their leadership to put money back into the pockets of TSA employees who worked without pay during the ongoing Democrat DHS shutdown. Working without pay forced more than 500 officers to leave TSA, and thousands were forced to call out,” Bis said.

The funding issue itself, however, remains unresolved. The shutdown has now entered its 45th day, with Congress still divided over a broader funding agreement. While House Republicans passed a short-term measure to fund the Department of Homeland Security for 60 days, it faces opposition in the Senate.

The political blame game has continued alongside the operational strain. While DHS statements have pointed to Democrats, Republicans have also previously voted against funding measures, highlighting the gridlock at the centre of the crisis.

Even as airport conditions begin to stabilise, the economic ripple effects are still visible. Airline stocks have declined, with United Airlines down 2.4 percent, Delta down 1.5 percent, American down 0.4 percent, and Southwest down 1.9 percent in midday trading.