TSA officers call out at record rates during partial shutdown, causing delays

As the partial government shutdown continues to drag on, Transportation Security Administration officers are not getting their paychecks due to the lapse in funding at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

Over the weekend, airports across the country faced long security delays, with TSA officers calling out of work.

There was a national callout rate of 10.19% on Sunday, a TSA spokesperson told Digital — that’s the highest rate the agency has seen.

AIRPORT SECURITY STRAIN DURING SHUTDOWN GROWS AS UNPAID TSA OFFICERS WARN, ‘WE’RE HURTING’

Videos circulating of the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport in Texas show passengers standing in long lines outside. 

The airport itself posted video on its X account on Saturday showing travelers lined up at 4:30 a.m.

“We’re expecting a record-breaking volume of people — there are about 38K of you flying out today,” the caption said. 

“Please arrive at least 2.5 hours prior to your flight’s departure for domestic.”

Passengers were waiting for 80 minutes on Sunday and just over an hour on Saturday.

The highest peak wait times seen in Austin were on March 13 at 90 minutes.

On Sunday, LaGuardia Airport (LGA) in New York City faced wait times of nearly three hours, with callout rates of 25.84%, a TSA spokesperson told .

Not far away, John F. Kennedy Airport (JFK) had a 28.2% callout rate, while Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) in New Jersey had a 13.83% callout rate.

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Callouts during the shutdown through Sunday averaged 10.24% at EWR, 21.40% at JFK and 12.68% at LGA.

Over 300 airport security officers have left TSA since the start of the DHS shutdown, with unscheduled absences, a TSA official confirmed to Digital.

Over 300 airport security officers have left TSA since the start of the DHS shutdown. (Mark Felix/AFP via Getty Images)

American travel website The Points Guy posted a video of Austin airport lines and captioned the post: “It’s the TSA Hunger Games at many airports across the country.”

The post continued, “Never settle for a long line,” adding a few tips it felt travelers should know.

“There are multiple entry points and sometimes CLEAR or PreCheck can be long. I got through Touchless TSA PreCheck in 2 minutes,” the group suggested. “You can opt in to Touchless ID ASAP in your airline loyalty app.”

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The Points Guy’s account also suggested passengers ask an employee in a red vest to point out the shortest line. 

“Explain if you’re TSA Pre/CLEAR/Touchless. They are helpful, especially if you have kids, and they have lines for those with children or accommodations,” the post continued.

“It’s the TSA Hunger Games at many airports across the country,” said one travel account about what’s going on right now.  (Peter Zay/Anadolu via Getty Images)

Finally, passengers were advised to “be nice! Everyone is stressed, and TSA agents have missed a paycheck. Even if you have to wait, don’t take it out on frontline officers.”

Digital reached out to The Points Guy for further comment.

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Deondre White, a TSA officer at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in D.C., told Digital last week that officers are “financially trying to do the best that they can.”

White said that thanks to the financial support of his own family, he’s been able “to show up” for his job. 

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“I’m thankful for my family to be able to come to work and be able to provide gas [to travel to work] because the gas prices have been rising,” he said. “However, there are a lot of officers here who do not have those resources or family commitments from others [to help them out].”

He added, “When we’re here, we will do our best as always. We have a crucial mission. We do take that very seriously.”