(HOUSTON, TEXAS) The 43-day U.S. government shutdown in 2025 left airport security under intense strain, with Transportation Security Administration (TSA) screeners working without pay and calling out in greater numbers as the weeks dragged on. Travelers in Houston and across the country faced longer lines, sporadic checkpoint closures, and delays that rippled through busy hubs.
The exact nationwide tally of TSA callouts was not released, but airports reported unscheduled absences and slowdowns that pointed to a surge in missed shifts. For passengers and airline crews, the result was a stressful peak travel period marked by uncertainty at the checkpoint and on the tarmac.
How the 2025 shutdown echoed past patterns
Officials say the pattern tracked what the public saw during the 2019 shutdown, when TSA callouts jumped markedly. On Day 31 of that earlier impasse, the absence rate hit 10%, more than triple normal levels.
While no official government figure has been provided for the latest stoppage, managers at several airports reported conditions consistent with that history: longer-than-usual lines and strain across security lanes. In simple terms, more officers were out, and those who remained were stretched thin, leading to visible staffing shortages and slower screening for families, business travelers, and international visitors alike.
Frontline impact and individual choices
The Department of Homeland Security said TSA personnel, including Transportation Security Officers, kept working through the shutdown even as paychecks stopped. Over time, absenteeism rose, echoing past shutdowns.
Frontline workers faced hard choices as bills piled up. Responses included:
– Picking up temporary jobs to cover rent
– Asking relatives for help
– Calling out when they could not afford child care or gasoline
Those individual decisions added up to measurable gaps in coverage at airports big and small.
Conditions at Houston Bush Intercontinental and other hubs
Houston Bush Intercontinental was among the airports that saw the grind of an extended stoppage. As the shutdown wore on, lines swelled before dawn and again during late-afternoon peaks. Travelers were warned to arrive early to avoid missing flights.
Similar scenes played out nationwide as TSA callouts forced supervisors to consolidate lanes or pause operations when coverage ran short. Consequences included:
– Three-hour security lines in some places
– Widespread flight delays that affected airlines and passengers
– Greater stress for workers trying to meet their own shift demands
Compounding pressures: controllers, checkpoints, and cascading delays
Aviation officials noted this strain did not occur in a vacuum. Shortages of air traffic controllers added to the squeeze, creating bottlenecks that compounded every minute lost at the checkpoint.
Key interactions included:
– Checkpoint openings delayed or closed early → queues multiplied
– Tower staffing dips → departure and arrival banks slipped behind schedule
– Each delay pushed the next stage further behind, tightening the whole system, especially at peak times
Effects on families, crews, and airport workers
Families and workers bore the brunt of these disruptions:
– Parents with small children: an extra half-hour could become an hour or more at security
– Airline crews: tight connections evaporated, causing knock-on effects for later flights
– Support staff (cabin cleaners, caterers, wheelchair attendants): spent more time waiting for lines to clear while still trying to meet shift responsibilities
Without steady pay, many TSA officers could not absorb commuting, parking, or overtime costs indefinitely.
Morale, staffing risk, and longer-term consequences
As the shutdown continued, morale sagged. Long shifts with fewer hands on deck wear people down. Supervisors were pulled from one checkpoint to staff another, and trainees were asked to fill roles they might not yet have fully mastered.
While the agency kept operations moving, every day without pay nudged more officers toward calling out or hunting for work outside the airport. Analysts warned that if shutdown conditions persisted, short-term absenteeism could harden into longer-term staffing shortages that take months to fix.
When pay stops, absenteeism rises. When absenteeism rises, security lines grow and flights slip behind schedule.
Policy response: the Keep Air Travel Safe Act
Policy makers took notice. The proposed Keep Air Travel Safe Act would ensure pay for TSA agents during future shutdowns, attempting to prevent the cycle of unpaid work and rising callouts.
Supporters say the measure could:
– Stabilize staffing during crises
– Keep screening lines moving
– Reduce the risk of cascading delays
Critics questioned costs, but airport leaders emphasized practical outcomes: steady pay means steadier staffing, which means fewer broken travel plans. According to analysis by VisaVerge.com, measures that shield frontline workers from missed paychecks tend to maintain service levels and reduce the chance of sudden disruptions at major hubs.
Local steps to manage traveler experience
At the local level, airport authorities and airlines used simple measures to manage the rush:
– Public messaging urging passengers to build in extra time
– Advising travelers to check gate assignments before leaving home
– Recommending carry-on packing with screening in mind — coats off, laptops out, liquids ready
TSA pre-screening lanes helped some frequent travelers move faster, but when overall staffing lagged, even priority lanes slowed. The Transportation Security Administration offered general updates and basic travel guidance on its official site. For official details, travelers can refer to the Transportation Security Administration.
Timeline and recovery challenges
The shutdown timeline helps explain the arc of pressure. Early days were tense but manageable, with many officers still able to cover shifts while waiting for back pay. As the stoppage pushed into weeks, unpaid bills came due and TSA callouts increased, mirroring the path seen in the 2019 shutdown.
By the later weeks, areas with tight staffing to begin with felt the sharpest pinch, and the network-wide impact became impossible to ignore. Once funding resumed, recovery was not immediate:
1. Scheduling needed to be rebuilt
2. Workers who took on second jobs had to decide whether to return to their old hours
Officials have not released a precise nationwide figure for how many TSA agents called out during the 43 days. Still, the best available benchmark remains the earlier 10% callout rate late in the 2019 impasse. Reports of three-hour lines and warnings to arrive early suggest the recent event likely matched, and possibly exceeded, that level on some days.
Why the numbers matter
A few percentage points of absenteeism can mean hundreds of missing officers nationwide, translating directly into:
– Slower screening
– More missed flights
– Greater stress for passengers and crews
Airports will continue adjusting, but the lesson from this shutdown is already clear: without timely pay, absenteeism rises and system performance degrades. For passengers, the most practical advice is simple: build in extra time and stay flexible. For the people staffing the lanes, the most practical solution is also simple: steady pay for steady work, so they can keep America’s airports moving.
This Article in a Nutshell
The 43-day 2025 government shutdown left TSA officers working without pay, increasing absenteeism and causing staffing shortages that produced long security lines, three-hour waits in some places, and widespread flight delays. Houston Bush Intercontinental and other hubs consolidated lanes or paused operations as officers called out to cover bills. Shortages of air traffic controllers compounded delays. The Keep Air Travel Safe Act was proposed to guarantee pay for TSA agents in future shutdowns, aiming to stabilize staffing and reduce cascading disruptions.
