US airports are telling travelers to arrive three to five hours early as more than 300 security staff quit

The departures are hitting a workforce already stretched to its limits. About 50,000 TSA screening officers have been working without pay for nearly a month after Congress failed to agree on a funding deal for DHS tied to immigration enforcement reforms.

Internal TSA statistics obtained by CBS News show 305 officers left the agency between Feb. 14 and March 9, a pace that officials warn will be difficult to reverse since new screeners require four to six months of training before they can work independently.

The damage from the 2025 government shutdown, which lasted 43 days, offers a grim precedent. Former TSA Administrator John Pistole told CBS News that nearly 1,100 security officers resigned during that episode because they needed income.

The current DHS shutdown marks the third time in roughly five months that TSA workers have been required to work without pay.

John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York averaged a 21% absence rate during the shutdown, the highest among major airports. Extreme weather has compounded the strain. During a major blizzard on Feb. 23, 77% of TSA officers at JFK and 53% at Newark Liberty International Airport called out, CBS News reported.

The understaffing is producing scenes that would have been unthinkable at major U.S. airports a year ago. Security wait times at Houston’s William P. Hobby Airport reached up to three hours on March 8, with lines stretching outside terminals and into parking garages.

The airport advised passengers to arrive four to five hours before their flights, according to NBC News.

At Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport, lines snaked through multiple floors and into the parking structure, with officials advising travelers to arrive at least three hours early.

TSA officials warn the consequences could extend well beyond the current crisis. Officers who are struggling to cover rent, groceries and gas may leave permanently rather than endure another pay disruption, and the months-long training pipeline means replacements will not arrive quickly. The broader TSA workforce of about 61,000 officers, according to CNNis absorbing the losses with no immediate prospect of relief.

Airlines for America projects 171 million passengers between March 1 and April 30, the busiest spring travel period on record, according to Reuters. Fewer screeners handling larger crowds has already led to increased flight delays and longer security queues at airports nationwide.

The DHS funding dispute is rooted in a standoff between Congressional Democrats and Republicans over immigration enforcement. Democrats have demanded reforms, including body cameras and tighter use-of-force rules for federal agents, following the fatal shootings of two U.S. citizens in Minneapolis by immigration officers in January, while Republicans have resisted most of the proposed changes, CNN reported.