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Travelers flying out of NYC area airports: Be prepared to wait
By
Ryan Kost
and
Jill Webb
Published Mar 22, 2026
Modified Mar 22, 2026
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Jill Webb/Gothamist
By
Ryan Kost
and
Jill Webb
Published Mar 22, 2026
Modified Mar 22, 2026
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Travelers headed to New York City-area airports should brace for long lines that snake around the airport as a partial federal government shutdown enters its second month, leaving thousands of TSA workers without pay.
The Department of Homeland Security has said that unpaid employees are starting to call out from work in large numbers, resulting in bottlenecks at airports across the country.
Late Sunday morning at LaGuardia Airport, lines stretched throughout the terminal. Several frustrated passengers said they arrived early and had been waiting for hours. Many were on the phone with airlines trying to rebook missed flights.
“Travelers should plan ahead and check our airport websites and their airline apps for the latest, real-time wait times and flight information before heading to the airport,” the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey wrote on X. It recommended passengers looking to save time consider TSA PreCheck and TSA’s touchless ID.
The authority also said it had increased customer service staff “to help manage queues, assist passengers, and keep people moving as efficiently as possible.”
The shutdown began Feb. 14, after Congress allowed DHS funding to lapse — the culmination of a weeks-long standoff that began after federal immigration agents fatally shot two people in Minneapolis in January.
A DHS spokesperson said absenteeism among TSA officers has climbed during the shutdown, with more than 11% of workers calling out nationwide on Saturday and more than 9% each day over the past week.
At some major airports, including JFK and LaGuardia, the agency said call-out rates were significantly higher. The spokesperson said many officers are struggling to cover basic expenses without pay, contributing to staffing shortages.
Democrats have refused to fund the department unless major reforms are made to Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection. Meanwhile, Republicans have refused to fund individual pieces of the department, insisting all of DHS be funded together — leaving both sides locked in a stalemate.
As negotiations continued over the weekend, President Donald Trump threatened to send ICE to the country’s airports if a deal was not reached by Monday.
On Fox News Sunday, White House Border Czar Tom Homan said he had spoken to the president about that possibility earlier in the morning.
“ He's tired of waiting and American people being held hostage, you know, at long lines, at the airports,” Homan said.
Homan said ICE officers could step in to handle some roles typically filled by TSA agents, such as checking IDs before screening areas or standing guard at terminal exits to free up security experts for work that requires specific training.
“ We're finalizing plans today, but you know, there's a lot of things that TSA does that doesn't require like specialized training, right?” Homan said.
Some small business owners in New York are stepping in to help unpaid TSA agents.
The United Bodegas of America this weekend launched what it's calling Operation Rescue TSA, an emergency credit program allowing agents to shop for food and essentials at participating bodegas and supermarkets across the city and pay the balance back once the shutdown ends.
Spokesman Fernando Mateo said bodegas have always served as a neighborhood lifeline, and that extending credit to TSA workers is a natural extension of that role.
“ These TSA agents walk into our stores every day and they buy food for their families,” he said. “So the day that they don't have the money to do it, we shouldn't deny them the right to put food on their table.”
This story has been updated with a comment from a DHS spokesperson.
Tagged
Politics
new york city
port authority
Ryan Kost
Ryan Kost is a reporter on the day-of news desk, where he covers breaking news and writes enterprise stories about jails, courts, prosecutors and government accountability. His work focuses on the public institutions that shape life in New York. Before joining the newsroom, he lead a multi-part investigation with Columbia Journalism Investigations and New York Focus into how New York prosecutors handle wrongful conviction claims. He's also been a staff writer at The San Francisco Chronicle, The Associated Press and The Oregonian. Got a tip? Signal: ryankost.20
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Jill Webb
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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