Washington — Unscheduled absences amongst airport safety officers have greater than doubled during the continuing Department of Homeland Security shutdown, with greater than 300 workers leaving the company because the begin of the DHS shutdown, in response to inner TSA statistics obtained completely by CBS News.
TSA officer call-out charges have climbed into double-digit percentages at some airports, together with half the officers at Houston’s Hobby Airport, straining screening operations and contributing to longer security lines.
Statistics obtained from Transportation Security Administration officers present the nationwide callout price — unscheduled absences by frontline officers — has risen to a median of 6% during the shutdown, in contrast with about 2% earlier than authorities funding lapsed.
Several days noticed considerably increased nationwide absence charges. The highest nationwide price reached 9% on Feb. 23, adopted by 8% on March 6 and seven% on March 9, in response to the inner knowledge.
The enhance comes as roughly 50,000 TSA workers are being required to work with out pay during the DHS funding lapse that started Feb. 14.
At particular person airports, sick outs have climbed much more sharply. At Houston’s Hobby Airport, 53% of officers known as out on March 8, with 47% calling out the next day – leading to practically half of scheduled officers not reporting to work during the two-day stretch.
At John F. Kennedy International Airport, TSA officers averaged a 21% absence price during the shutdown, the very best amongst main airports. Other closely affected hubs included Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (19%), William P. Hobby Airport in Houston (18%), Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport (14%) and Pittsburgh International Airport (13%).
Those figures have been compounded by excessive climate occasions. For instance, 77% of officers at JFK and 53% at Newark Liberty International Airport known as out on Feb. 23 during a significant blizzard, in response to the information.
TSA has misplaced greater than 300 workers since shutdown started
The shutdown has additionally accelerated departures from the workforce. TSA recorded 305 worker separations between Feb. 14 and March 9, and it may take months to interchange these officers due to the 4 to 6 months of coaching required earlier than workers are in a position to work independently at checkpoints.
TSA officers warn that extended funding gaps can have lasting results on the screening workforce as a result of workers who’re struggling to cowl primary bills might go away the job fully.
Behind the scenes, DHS officers fear that the longer the shutdown lasts, the better the chance that extra TSA workers will go away, worsening staffing shortages past the rapid disaster. Officials warn that repeated shutdowns interrupting pay proceed to make the job much less engaging, additional undermining recruitment and retention efforts by the federal authorities over the long run.
“It’s a huge morale hit for TSA,” former TSA Administrator John Pistole advised CBS News, including that he worries adversaries might attempt to exploit “a perceived vulnerability because there’s not as many people at TSA showing up for work,” significantly as airport safety strains develop longer.
Pistole additionally warned that prolonged shutdowns can have everlasting and lasting results on the workforce. After the 2025 shutdown, he famous, TSA “lost nearly 1,100 security officers who resigned because they had to have income and they weren’t being paid.” If the present standoff drags on, he stated, repeated shutdowns might make it more durable to recruit new officers, since candidates might query taking a job the place they could must work with out pay.
Dozens of “hotspots” threaten to sluggish checkpoint safety operations nationwide
The company has additionally tracked operational “hotspots” — incidents the place staffing shortages threaten to sluggish checkpoint operations. Houston recorded 44 such incidents during the shutdown, adopted by New Orleans with 35 and Atlanta with 32. Nationwide, the very best single-day depend reached 87 hotspots on March 8.
Travel demand has continued to rise during the shutdown, which means fewer officers are screening extra passengers.
TSA officers say the staffing shortages have compelled managers in some cities to consolidate checkpoints or scale back screening lanes, growing wait instances for vacationers whereas remaining officers display rising passenger volumes.
The shutdown has additionally disrupted some expedited traveler applications. Last month, DHS initially stated it might droop TSA PreCheck earlier than shortly reversing course and preserving this system open, saying operations can be managed airport by airport. However, U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s Global Entry program was suspended as CBP officers have been reassigned to common passenger processing. The program was ultimately reactivated because the shutdown continued.
First full missed TSA paychecks to come back Friday
TSA officers are additionally approaching a key monetary milestone within the standoff: the primary full missed paycheck is predicted Friday, elevating issues that extra workers might name out if the shutdown drags on.
In an announcement to CBS News, a DHS spokesperson wrote that TSA workers have been being compelled to work with out pay “for the THIRD time in nearly six months,” including, “the longer this shutdown drags on, the more financial hardship our patriotic officers and their families face, leading to more staffing issues and longer wait times for travelers.”
“It’s time for Democrats to end these political games, pay our TSA officers, and re-open DHS,” the spokesperson added.
The staffing pressure at TSA checkpoints has coincided with growing airport delays and lengthy safety strains at some airports throughout the nation. TSA officers have been working with out pay because the shutdown started on Feb. 14, and continued absences amongst screeners have strained checkpoint staffing.
At Houston’s William P. Hobby Airport, safety wait instances stretched to greater than three hours on March 8, prompting vacationers to be suggested to reach 4 to 5 hours earlier than flights, CBS News previously reported.
Meanwhile in New Orleans, airport officers warned passengers to reach at least three hours early after some vacationers missed flights attributable to lengthy TSA strains, whereas officers at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport additionally cautioned that prolonged waits have been attainable as staffing shortages persist.
Leah Turney, who was touring out of New Orleans, stated she and her household missed their flights due to the lengthy strains.
“We were waiting in TSA just to get to security for four hours,” she stated.
Traveler Ellen Caldwell advised CBS News, “I was here three weeks ago for Mardi gras, and it was no problem,” including, “This is insane.”
With spring break approaching, no funding deal in sight
Airline trade officers have warned that heavy spring break journey might worsen delays except Congress reaches a deal to revive Department of Homeland Security funding.
During the 2018–2019 authorities shutdown — the longest in U.S. historical past — CBS News reported that unscheduled absences climbed to just about 8% by mid-January, eventually peaking to around 10% of officers on some days as employees went with out pay, elevating issues about whether or not checkpoint staffing might sustain with journey demand.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt stated Tuesday that President Trump “wants the Department of Homeland Security … to be fully funded and fully reopened,” and she or he urged Americans affected by the shutdown to “call your Democrat member of Congress and tell them to fund the Department of Homeland Security.”
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and Sen. Brian Schatz stated Tuesday that negotiations over funding the Department of Homeland Security have stalled as a result of the Trump administration has not engaged in substantive talks over reforms to immigration enforcement companies.
Speaking at their weekly press convention, Schumer stated Democrats had provided Republicans an opportunity to fund a number of DHS companies — together with the TSA, FEMA, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, and the United States Coast Guard — by separating them from disputed funding for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
Schumer stated Republicans blocked that effort.
“Last week, Thursday, we gave them a chance to fund TSA and other DHS agencies,” Schumer stated. “Senate Republicans led by Senator Britt blocked Senator Murray’s attempt to pass the bill through.”
“We are in a deep disagreement, but an ongoing negotiation about ICE and CBP,” Schatz stated. “So let’s narrow it to just that and fund the rest of the government.”
He added that Democrats would throw their assist behind a invoice funding these companies if it excluded immigration enforcement.
“They should walk onto the floor and offer unanimous consent to open the Coast Guard, to open TSA, to fund FEMA, to fund CISA,” Schatz stated. “I guarantee you there will not be a Democratic objector.”
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