Air passengers faced extensive delays on Sunday at major airports across the country, with some waiting several hours at security screening areas due to staffing issues linked to the federal government shutdown affecting the Department of Homeland Security.
Houston’s William P. Hobby Airport reported security checkpoint delays reaching three hours during Sunday evening, according to the airport’s official website. Airport officials had already anticipated higher passenger volumes due to spring break travel season.
Throughout Sunday, Hobby Airport progressively updated its social media recommendations on X, initially suggesting passengers arrive early, then extending that to 3-4 hours ahead of departure, and finally advising travelers to allow 4-5 hours for the screening process due to the partial federal shutdown.
Houston Airports, which operates both Hobby and George Bush Intercontinental Airport, issued a statement explaining that the shutdown “can impact security operations day-to-day and shift-to-shift.” Meanwhile, George Bush Intercontinental Airport experienced minimal delays, with checkpoint waits of just minutes during the same timeframe.
Similar problems plagued Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport, where officials posted on X about TSA agent shortages creating “longer-than-average” security lines. The airport recommended passengers plan for at least three hours before flights, warning that screening could take up to two hours and similar disruptions might persist throughout the week.
Whether these significant delays occurred at additional airports nationwide remains unclear. The extended wait times added to existing travel complications from weather-related flight cancellations in cities like Atlanta over recent days.
Transportation Security Administration personnel must continue working without compensation during the DHS shutdown, which started February 14. Democratic congressional members have indicated DHS funding will remain blocked until new limitations are implemented on federal immigration enforcement following the deadly shootings of Alex Pretti and Renee Good in Minneapolis this year.
Chris Sununu, who serves as president and CEO of Airlines for America, a major airline industry organization, called on federal leaders to take immediate action.
“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,” he said. “America’s transportation security workforce is too important to be used as political leverage.”
Jessica Andersen Alexie experienced the Houston airport delays firsthand while traveling with her children, ages 10 and 13, as they returned to New Orleans following the World Baseball Classic.
Alexie explained they arrived three hours before their scheduled departure but encountered such lengthy lines they realized missing their flight was inevitable. She explored renting a vehicle for the drive home but found no cars available. After rebooking on a later flight, she managed to navigate the CLEAR security program after approximately 3½ hours of waiting.
While dining after clearing security, she checked for additional flight options, thinking other stranded passengers might have canceled their plans, and discovered three available seats on an earlier departure that got her family home Sunday afternoon. Upon landing in New Orleans, she observed security lines extending into the airport parking structure.
“It was nuts,” she said. “It was crazy.”
