TSA lines growing at Charlotte airport over spring break. Others have it worse
With spring break underway, a partial government shutdown left Charlotte passengers stranded in security lines for nearly an hour on Sunday, according to federal reports.
Wait times at major airports nationwide fluctuated wildly, ranging from 51 minutes at Houston’s George Bush Intercontinental to 3 1/2 hours at Houston’s William P. Hobby Airport, according to the Transportation Security Administration.
At Charlotte Douglas International Airport, the Sunday peak wait time reached 47 minutes.
These disruptions stem from a partial government shutdown that began Feb. 14. Now in its fourth week, the impasse has left the Department of Homeland Security operating without a budget due to a congressional deadlock between Democrats and Republicans.
More than 50,000 TSA officers are working without pay, fueling staffing shortages and a spike in absences as employees receive $0 paychecks.
Lauren Bis, DHS Deputy Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs, stated that some major hubs’ delays have led to missed flights during one of the year’s busiest travel periods.
Both political parties seized on the delays to blame the other.
“Their political stunt is forcing patriotic TSA officers to work without pay — leading to financial hardships, absences, and crippling staffing shortages.”
Democratic leaders, such as House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Senate leader Chuck Schumer, blamed the shutdown on the Trump administration’s refusal to make changes at DHS, particularly to how ICE operates.
“America is at war, TSA agents aren’t being paid, and this guy is playing golf,” Jeffries said on X referring to President Donald Trump. “Why are House Republicans continuing to support this train wreck? Sycophants.”
How to check TSA wait times at the Charlotte airport
By Monday morning, DHS reported that security lines at airports such as New Orleans’ Louis Armstrong, stretched into parking areas, according to an X post.
However, TSA wait time conditions at CLT appeared to fluctuate.
While the airport did not provide a comment about delays, its real-time tracking website showed wait times ranged from less than 10 to minutes to 20 minutes at three locations around 11:30 a.m. Monday, although one checkpoint remained closed.
The current concerns follow a previous 43-day government shutdown that ended in mid-November, which also disrupted thousands of flights in Charlotte.
American Airlines, which operates 90% of flights at CLT, referred comment to Airlines for America, an industry lobbying group. A4A President and CEO Chris Sununu warned that passengers are again being used as “a political football.”
“We are in spring break travel season and expecting record numbers of people to take to the skies,” Sununu said. “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.”
