Overview
- Major hubs reported long waits Friday, including 120–180 minutes at Houston’s Bush Intercontinental and roughly 80–120 minutes at Atlanta, with some checkpoints closed in Houston and Philadelphia.
- Daily nationwide TSA callouts hovered around 10% this week, while localized spikes hit roughly 30–40% at airports such as JFK, Atlanta, New Orleans, and Houston, with a single‑day peak of 55% at Houston Hobby earlier in the week.
- DHS says 366 TSA officers have resigned since the mid‑February lapse, and airports have reduced lanes or shuttered checkpoints, including a full closure of Houston’s Terminal D screening and fewer lanes in Terminal C.
- Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy and Acting Deputy TSA Administrator Adam Stahl warned that smaller airports may have to suspend operations if absences grow, with another missed paycheck projected next week.
- Airline CEOs urged Congress to restore pay, warning a system at a breaking point as carriers prepare for an estimated 171 million spring travelers, while Senate talks continued without a funding deal.