America’s airports are spiraling into disarray as the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) shutdown drags on — and the fallout is only growing worse, according to Fox News. With hundreds of Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officers calling out or quitting altogether, terminals from New York to Houston are seeing security lines stretch for hours and some checkpoints forced to close entirely.
In Philadelphia, airport officials announced Wednesday they would shut down half of their main screening checkpoints in a desperate attempt to “optimize operations” with dwindling staff. The move is a warning sign, and the TSA fears other airports could be next.
According to the outlet, “Acting Deputy TSA Administrator Adam Stahl told Fox News Digital on Wednesday the issue is not just staffing. He said ‘a variety of other streams of information, including threat [and] intelligence’ input, are also part of ongoing risk assessments.”
The national callout rate hit 10.19% on Sunday, and 366 TSA officers have already resigned since the shutdown began. “The reality is [that] as this continues, as our officers continue not to receive a paycheck, it just stretches into weeks … [and] rates [of callouts] are going to continue to go up. We’re going to have individuals that can’t afford to go into work and individuals quit, possibly altogether,” Stahl added.
The human toll is showing up in the departure halls. At LaGuardia Airport in New York, travelers face security wait times nearing three hours. Lines at Houston’s William P. Hobby Airport are just as long, while Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International reported delays exceeding two hours. Even regional airports are warning flyers to expect unpredictable waits that could swing from 15 minutes to two hours depending on the time of day.
Stahl said field directors are making difficult calls about which checkpoints remain open, balancing shortage-driven logistics with active security intelligence. “”We’re determining [airport and security line closures] based on staffing, but we have federal security directors on the ground who are experts in their particular airport, the configuration, demographic, and travel and patterns tied to that airport,” he said.
If relief doesn’t come soon, the outlook could turn dire. “As the weeks continue, if this continues, it’s not hyperbole to suggest that we may have to quite literally shut down airports – particularly smaller ones if callout rates go up,” Stahl warned.
As passengers grow weary and federal employees face mounting financial strain, the nation’s aviation network finds itself trapped between politics and public safety — with no clear end in sight. Stahl told Fox News Digital that maintaining the integrity of the aviation security system is crucial and will remain a top priority moving forward.