DHS shutdown stretches airport security lines to hours during spring break

Travelers at William P. Hobby Airport in Houston and Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport encountered security checkpoint waits of up to three hours Sunday, as a shortage of Transportation Security Administration agents — stemming from the ongoing Department of Homeland Security shutdown — disrupted spring break travel. Houston Airports at one point asked travelers to arrive four to five hours before their flights.

TSA agents are expected to work without pay under the DHS shutdown, which began Feb. 14. The extended delays hit during peak spring break season, and airline industry officials called Sunday for an urgent resolution, warning that the security workforce should not be used as political leverage.

Conditions at Houston and New Orleans airports

The estimated wait time at the standard security checkpoint at Hobby Airport reached three hours early Sunday evening, according to the Houston Airports website. In a series of social media posts throughout the day, the airport escalated its guidance — from urging travelers to arrive early, to asking them to arrive three to four hours before their flights, and eventually to four to five hours early — citing the partial government shutdown. Houston Airports, which operates both Hobby and George Bush Intercontinental Airport, said the shutdown “can impact security operations day-to-day and shift-to-shift.” Wait times at George Bush Intercontinental were as brief as a few minutes at the same time.

At Louis Armstrong New Orleans International, officials said a shortage of TSA agents was causing wait times of up to two hours. The airport urged travelers to arrive at least three hours before their flights and warned that similar delays could continue through the coming week.

It was not immediately clear whether the disruptions extended to other airports around the country, the Associated Press reported.

Shutdown’s political origins

The DHS shutdown began Feb. 14. Democratic lawmakers have said DHS will not get funded until new restrictions are placed on federal immigration operations — a demand they have linked to the fatal shootings of Alex Pretti and Renee Good in Minneapolis earlier this year. TSA agents are expected to work without pay during the shutdown.

Chris Sununu, president and CEO of Airlines for America, a trade group for U.S. airlines, called on Congress and the Trump administration to reach a deal.

“We are in spring break travel season and expecting record numbers of people to take to the skies. Airlines have done their part to prepare; now Congress and the administration must act with urgency to reach a deal that reopens DHS and ends this shutdown,” Sununu said. “America’s transportation security workforce is too important to be used as political leverage.”

Travelers caught in delays

Jessica Andersen Alexie and her two children, ages 10 and 13, were among the travelers caught in the long lines at Hobby as they tried to return home to New Orleans after attending the World Baseball Classic in Houston. She said they arrived three hours early and still could not make their original flight. While waiting in line, Alexie checked for available rental cars as an alternative but found none. She rebooked for a late-night flight and eventually got through the CLEAR security lane after about 3½ hours.

While sitting down to eat, she searched available flights and found three seats on an earlier departure. Her family landed in New Orleans that afternoon, where she said the security line extended out to the parking garage.

“It was nuts,” Alexie said. “It was crazy.”