US airport chaos: What's driving the delays and what's being done about it

US airports are witnessing long delays as unpaid TSA workers increasingly skip duty, forcing the government to deploy ICE agents to help manage passenger flow

Airports across the United States are facing severe disruption, with passengers waiting for hours to clear security checks amid acute staff shortages. This comes as a growing number of Transportation Security Administration (TSA) workers, responsible for screening passengers, are not reporting for duty after being left without pay. 

Absenteeism among TSA workers surged to more than 9 per cent in the past week, according to a Reuters report. At major airports such as Houston, New York and Atlanta, over one-third of screeners have called in sick or failed to report for duty, the report added, citing the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

 

The trigger

The disruption is largely tied to a partial government shutdown that began in February, affecting agencies under the DHS, including the TSA. The DHS has acknowledged the financial strain, noting that many employees have been working without pay for weeks. 

"Many TSA officers cannot pay their rent, buy food, or afford to put gas in their cars, forcing them to call out sick from work," a DHS spokesperson said. 

The staffing crisis has coincided with heavy spring break travel, further worsening the congestion. The New York Times reported that wait times at some airports, including LaGuardia in New York, stretched up to three hours. The report also cited passengers who described significant gaps between estimated and actual wait times at airports. 

Further, the shutdown stems from a political deadlock in Congress, with Democrats holding up DHS funding while pushing for changes to immigration enforcement policies following the killing of two people by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents. Their demands include requiring agents to obtain a warrant from a judge before entering homes, mandating visible identification on uniforms and banning the use of masks by agents. 

Until a funding proposal is cleared by Congress, TSA workers are required to continue working without pay.

 

What is being done to manage the situation?

The Donald Trump-led administration has decided to deploy ICE agents to airports to address the staff shortages. Unlike TSA employees, ICE agents have continued to get paid by the government through a separate funding provision. 

The deployment is expected to begin on Monday at up to 14 locations, though exact details remain unclear, reported Reuters. Officials have said the agents will help with crowd control and managing queues in domestic terminals, rather than conducting immigration enforcement. They are not expected to operate behind security checkpoints due to clearance limitations. 

Tom Homan, the White House 'border czar', told CNN the deployment is aimed at easing congestion. "We will be at airports… helping TSA move those lines along," he said. 

 

  The move, however, has drawn criticism from labour unions and some lawmakers. The American Federation of Government Employees said TSA officers undergo months of training to detect threats, warning against replacing them with personnel lacking equivalent expertise. 

"The last thing the American people need is for untrained ICE agents to be deployed at airports across the country, potentially to brutalise or to kill them," Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries said, as quoted by The New York Times.