Airports around the country reported a return to normalcy as Transportation Security Administration workers began getting paid this week.
"We know the last few days have been difficult," Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport posted on X on Monday, March 30. "The normal, quick and efficient checkpoint operations we're known for have returned today."
TSA said airport security officer absences fell sharply Monday after workers got paid.
As of 4 p.m. ET Monday, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, LaGuardia Airport in New York and Philadelphia International Airport reported standard security waits starting at under 5 minutes, though wait times at other airports were longer. The same was still true at 11:30 a.m. ET Tuesday, March 31.
President Donald Trump signeda decree on Friday, March 27, redirecting federal funds already earmarked for the Department of Homeland Security to pay TSA workers amid a weeks-long partial government shutdown that's ballooned airport security wait times. However, it's only a temporary fix, and long-term funding still needs approval by lawmakers, who are currently on a previously scheduled recess.
"At the direction of President Trump and the Secretary of Homeland Security Markwayne Mullin, TSA has immediately begun the process of paying its workforce. TSA officers should begin seeing paychecks as early as today," DHS Acting Assistant Secretary of Public Affairs Lauren Bis said in a statement to USA TODAY, expressing both TSA and DHS's gratitude for putting money back into the pockets of TSA workers who've been working without pay.
How many TSA workers called out?
TSA saw its highest call-out rate yet on Friday, March 27: 12.35% of workers, according to DHS. It was still 10.59% or 3,101 officers on Sunday, March 29, before they started receiving pay.
The department shared the following call-out rates for individual airports on Sunday:
- Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport (BWI) - 38.5%
- George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston (IAH) - 36.4.%
- William P. Hobby Airport in Houston (HOU) - 34.1%
- Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport (MSY) - 34.1%
- Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL) - 33.7%
- John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York (JFK) - 29.6%
- Pittsburgh International Airport (PIT) - 23.4%
- Philadelphia International Airport (PHL) - 23.0%
- LaGuardia Airport in New York (LGA) - 22.9%
Travelers should refer to their respective airports and airlines for guidance on when to arrive.
The world's busiest airport, ATL, is advising travelers to arrive 2 hours before domestic departures and 3 hours before international flights, like normal. At the height of TSA delays, Atlanta's airport encouraged travelers to arrive at least 4 hours early.
How to check airport wait times
TSA has not consistently updated the MyTSA app during the partial shutdown, but travelers can check wait times for major airports with USA TODAY's TSA tracker, which is updated every 10 minutes.
Additional wait time may be available on individual airport websites and social media.
Third-party sites like Airport Insight and TSA Wait Times also offer wait times.
Contributing: Reuters
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By Eve Chen, USA TODAY.
