Long security lines form at airports as TSA agents miss full initial checks during DHS stops
ATLANTA – Long security lines filled the domestic airport at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport on Sunday, frustrating some weary travelers as they waited to get to their check-in points.
The mobs formed just days after TSA agents missed their first paycheck as the Department of Homeland Security continues without funding.
At the Atlanta airport, travelers form parallel lines as they pass through security at the domestic airport. A digital sign showed wait times ranging from four minutes for TSA PreCheck passengers to more than an hour at the main checkpoint.
Despite the long lines and tired faces of those waiting, most seemed calm. Hartsfield-Jackson serves as one of Delta Air Lines’ hubs and is among the busiest airports in the country.
Laronda Monteiro, who lives in Atlanta, arrived three hours early for a flight to New Orleans, telling NBC News it was paid as she stood in line.
“I know we have to be protected, and I thank those who are still with the TSA, who are still on the job,” said Monteiro. “I can wait for safety and security.”
Morgan Young, who was returning to Washington, said she “doesn’t like” travel interruptions as she waits in the TSA line. Teenagers often fly using CLEAR, a private security program that costs about $200 a person, but that option was not available Sunday.
“It’s stressful, to be honest,” Young said. “I feel like the Atlanta airport is going about as well as it can, but it’s definitely stressful. And it’s really stressful for people who are not earning and who are on the job.”
It was disappointing for Ezer Gill, who is waiting to go through security to return home to Fort Lauderdale. He said it saddens him to see people suffering while the government stands still.
“Air travel is an important part of how our country works, and if we can’t get where we need to go, it’s going to affect a lot of people,” Gill said. “It affects me and many other people, I heard.”
Democratic lawmakers have stalled Republican efforts to pass a new DHS funding bill after raising serious concerns about the embattled agency’s handling of immigration law. DHS funding expired on Feb. 13, and Democrats are insisting on reforming the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Act and the Customs and Border Protection Act before they approve a new spending bill.
TSA employees are considered essential employees who must continue to work without pay. They received some paychecks following the shutdown and missed their first full paycheck on Friday.
More than 300 TSA employees have resigned since February, according to the agency.
Scenes similar to those in Atlanta were filmed at airports in Fort Lauderdale, Philadelphia, Austin and Chicago.
Videos shared online showed long waits at airports in major cities across the country. One traveler at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport in Texas posted a video on TikTok of the winding line at 2 a.m. and advised others to arrive early for their flights.
This model said he arrived four hours early and still missed his flight at 2:30 in the morning. Some commenters said that the situation improved later on Sunday morning.
That action appears to be tracking reports from the Austin airport, which has been posting updates on social media. According to airport documents at X, queues were “very long” in the early hours of Sunday but had subsided a few hours later.
Another person posted a video Sunday morning at Chicago O’Hare International Airport that shows the line going back and forth at least three times based on its location. The person who uploaded it wrote in the comments that it took about two hours to save it safely.
The TSA acknowledged the long wait times in a social media post Saturday, urging Democrats to end the partial shutdown.
“$0 payment for those who continue to work,” the agency wrote to X. “Enough is enough. No more playing politics with the lives of the American people.”
A DHS spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment from NBC News on Sunday.
Anthony Riley, 58, continued to work at Syracuse Hancock International Airport during the closure but worries he may soon be homeless if nothing changes. He told NBC News last week that he lost his car during the government shutdown last year and has no money to pay it back.
“The problem is that my credit rating was affected by the last government shutdown while I was working without pay,” said Riley.
Riley has three children, and his wife, Keya, is waiting for a kidney donation. Without reliable transportation, he worries about how they will get to Rochester if the organ becomes available.
Although Riley said she was shocked by the violence she witnessed during immigration enforcement, she is not sure how long she can go without pay.
He has been working with a Legal Aid lawyer to avoid eviction and hopes to work out a plan to pay the rent in the square by the end of this month.
“But my lawyer told us to be prepared to leave in 30 days if it doesn’t work,” said Riley. “Right now, I’m doing everything I can to keep my family from being thrown off the street.”
Aaron Gilchrist and Dan Gallo reported from Atlanta. Doha Madani reported from New York City.
