Houston airports a travel nightmare with nearly 50% of TSA agents calling out — the worst in the US
Air travel in Houston has been severely disrupted during the ongoing government shutdown, with passengers facing security lines lasting three to four hours in recent days. The situation has been worsened by some of the highest Transportation Security Administration absentee rates in the country.
At William P. Hobby Airport, nearly half of TSA personnel—about 47 percent—did not report to work on Saturday. George Bush Intercontinental Airport also saw major staffing shortages, with roughly 42 percent of its TSA workforce absent that same day, according to figures reported by CBS News.
Other major airports have also experienced significant numbers of TSA workers calling out. In New Orleans, Louis Armstrong International Airport recorded a 34 percent absence rate. Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport and New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport each reported about one-third of their TSA staff missing shifts.
Nationwide, approximately 11.5 percent of TSA employees were absent on Saturday. The agency has also reported that about 450 workers have resigned since the partial government shutdown began on February 13.
Many TSA employees have gone weeks without pay during the shutdown, contributing to the rising number of absences. The funding standoff continues as Democrats and some Republicans have declined to approve funding for the Department of Homeland Security without changes to border patrol and Immigration and Customs Enforcement policies proposed by President Trump.
The staffing shortages have created major problems for travelers as well as airport operations. Long waits at security checkpoints have become common, particularly in Houston, where weekend delays have grown increasingly severe over the past month.
At George Bush Intercontinental Airport on Monday, only two of the facility’s five security checkpoints were operating. The line of waiting passengers stretched through multiple floors and extended into the airport’s underground train area.
Conditions showed little improvement the following day, with wait times again reaching beyond four hours at Bush Intercontinental.
While most major airports around the country reported more typical wait times by Tuesday, Newark Liberty International Airport still experienced delays of about an hour. Officials have not yet explained why absentee rates among TSA workers in Houston have been far higher than in other cities.
Neither of Houston’s major airports responded to requests for comment about the situation.
To help address the staffing problems, President Trump ordered Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to assist with operations at several airports. ICE personnel were deployed to at least 14 airports, including facilities in Houston, New Orleans, New York, Atlanta, Newark, and Philadelphia. Witnesses reported seeing the agents helping guide passengers through security lines and manage the flow of travelers.
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