‘Nobody knows where the lines will be’: Airports warn travelers as TSA attendance dips again

On Thursday evening, March 19, U.S. airports issued an unprecedented set of social-media alerts asking passengers to arrive “at least three hours early—even for domestic flights.” The warnings followed a second straight day of elevated absenteeism among Transportation Security Administration officers, who have gone without pay since the partial DHS shutdown began on 10 March. An Associated Press dispatch captured the sense of uncertainty: checkpoint wait times at Miami International peaked at 95 minutes at midday, while Phoenix Sky Harbor saw lines shrink from 70 minutes to 20 minutes in the space of two hours as managers shuffled screeners between terminals. For corporate travel planners, the volatility is proving harder to mitigate than the delays themselves, because historical data no longer predicts future throughput. Airlines have begun texting real-time security-line estimates to premium-cabin and top-tier loyalty customers, and several carriers are letting business-class passengers use crew entrances at severely backed-up terminals. Airport operators, meanwhile, have accelerated the roll-out of facial-biometric e-gates originally slated for summer, arguing that the technology can cut document-check times by up to 30 percent even when staffing levels are low. Privacy advocates counter that the emergency deployment risks sidestepping public-comment periods and could lead to permanent surveillance infrastructure built on a crisis.



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For global-mobility teams moving executives or project specialists into the United States, the practical advice is to pad layovers, purchase fully-refundable fares, and remind travelers that TSA-PreCheck queues are no longer a guarantee: at Dallas–Fort Worth and Newark Liberty, PreCheck lanes were periodically closed on 19 March as supervisors diverted officers to regular screening. Companies with critical travel needs should also revisit contingency plans such as private-terminal services (PS LAX, Chase Sapphire Lounge by TSA) that operate outside standard checkpoints—but at a steep premium. With Congress still haggling over an immigration-enforcement rider seen as the main stumbling block to a funding deal, industry analysts say the specter of another weekend of chaotic lines could finally shift negotiations. Until then, mobility managers will need to keep one eye on the House floor and another on TSA’s unpredictable staffing rosters.