TSA agents march 10 2026

TSA Officers Miss Their First Full Paycheck as Fears About Long Airport Lines Get Real

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TSA agents march 10 2026

As a result of the partial government shutdown, US Department of Homeland Security employees did not receive their first full payday on Friday. This also includes Transportation Security Administration employees. And that means the lines at the airport are about to get worse.

The TSA employs about 50,000 officers at airports across the country, and they were paid only about a third of their salaries two weeks ago. They did not get anything on Friday. CBS News reported that 304 TSA officers have walked off the job since the shutdown began on February 14 through March 9. It is unknown how many people may have left their jobs in the last four days.

Six percent of TSA officers are reportedly calling in sick as of Thursday, a number that is expected to rise in the coming days and weeks. But the increase in call-outs is uneven across the country. According to CBS News, nearly half of the TSA officers at Houston’s Hobby Airport called in sick on March 8 and 9, causing delays of more than 3 hours.

Airports have tried to calm fears about long lines after videos went viral on social media. A video aired Friday morning on X of a “weirdly long wait” at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, where people were “missing flights left and right,” according to a local TV news reporter.

Several hours later, the airport shared four videos on Twitter that appeared to show very manageable lines.

By contrast, the White House and the Department of Homeland Security are flooding social media with videos of long lines and blaming Democrats for the chaos.

At issue is funding for an agency that includes Customs and Border Protection (CBP) as well as Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), which President Donald Trump has used as a secret police force for the past year. Democrats have refused to sign off on DHS funding unless some minor changes are made, including a ban on masks for most ICE agents.

Republicans have stood firm and are refusing to make even the smallest of changes that would embolden Trump’s masked goons. And there’s no sign the legislation will be passed any time soon. Democrats introduced a bill in the Senate on Thursday that would fund parts of DHS that do not involve immigration enforcement, but every Republican, including Democratic Senator John Fetterman, voted no.

Meanwhile, TSA officers are struggling and taking second jobs in an effort to pay the bills. Once government funding is restored, they will receive back wages, but that doesn’t do much in the interim, when it is common for Americans to live paycheck to paycheck. Airports are running food drives for TSA employees, with some airports also asking for help from the public. Denver International Airport asks people to donate $10 or $20 grocery store and gas gift cards.

When TSA officers leave the job, it takes a long time to find a replacement. According to CBS News, training takes four to six months, and the pay isn’t great. The average TSA officer earns about $50,000 per year, down from an average salary of about $62,000 per year in 2025. And with the rising cost of food and gas (the average price of a gallon is currently $3.63), the average American’s dollar is wearing thin.

TSA lost nearly 1,100 officers during the 2025 shutdown, which lasted a record 43 days. And while there has been less attention to reports of long lines at airports due to the busy news cycle (President Trump started a new war in Iran and two terrorist attacks occurred on American soil on Thursday), expect to hear more about a partial government shutdown as air travel potentially grinds to a halt.





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