Air travelers nationwide face marathon security lines and widespread flight disruptions as TSA agents and air traffic controllers work without pay during the ongoing government shutdown, with some passengers waiting up to five hours at major airports.
The travel chaos marks what officials described as the “worst weekend” for staffing since the shutdown began, disrupting the travel plans of millions of Americans and costing the economy over $1 billion per week.
FlightAware reported 173 cancellations within, into, or outbound from the U.S. on Saturday, and 244 on Sunday. Delays reported for U.S. flights were 4,611 on Saturday and 5,987 on Sunday.
At the Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport, 936 delays were reported over the weekend, with 10 flights cancelled. At Dallas Love Field, there were 155 delayed flights and zero cancellations.
At Houston’s George Bush Intercontinental Airport, TSA checkpoint wait times ballooned to over three hours during the weekend. Some passengers endured wait times of up to five hours in security lines, while nearby William P. Hobby Airport saw wait times routinely exceeding one hour.
Half of the nation’s busiest airports faced severe staffing shortages, triggering cascading delays and cancellations nationwide. Since the shutdown began, air traffic control facilities have reported four times as many staffing shortages compared to the same period last year.
Major disruptions hit airports in Chicago, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Atlanta, Miami, Orlando, and more than a dozen other cities. The New York area warned passengers to expect “schedule changes, gate holds, and missed connections.”
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy warned that the situation will deteriorate further without resolution. Jacksonville’s air traffic control center, which manages Southeast airspace, has declared an active staffing trigger, potentially forcing flight rerouting for Atlanta, Orlando, and Miami.
Industry stakeholders are calling for immediate action. Air traffic controllers, pilots, and major airlines have urged Congress to pass a clean continuing resolution to end the shutdown and restore normal operations.
The U.S. Travel Association estimated that the shutdown costs the travel economy $1 billion per week in lost spending. As federal workers continue without paychecks, the crisis shows no signs of abating without congressional intervention.
Flight cancellations and delays have recovered somewhat from the weekend chaos. As of Tuesday at 1 p.m., FlightAware reported 67 cancellations and 2,163 delayed flights nationwide. Dallas Love Field noted security checkpoint wait times averaging about 5 minutes, but those times were projected to increase later in the day. DFW reported wait times averaging 17 minutes.