How Early to Airport Because of Government Shutdown Affecting TSA

Many things can and will change by April 8. I would follow the airline and airport advice about when to arrive. If that is 3 hours early, then it's 3 hours early. A small investment in time to avoid the cost of missing an important flight.

You can check TSA waiting times in their app https://www.dhs.gov/check-wait-times

Note that the TSA app/website is not currently being managed/updated due to the shutdown.

I'm flying out of Minneapolis on Thursday. I'm not anticipating any issues, but typically local news will report on any unusual happenings at MSP. We are in spring break season, so I'm allowing extra time just because of that.

I flew out of SeaTac last week at got thru TSA in minutes.

Well, I learned something new when I went looking for TSA wait times at my local Spokane airport. There is a complimentary car wash for people who've used their parking facilities. Who knew? Not me, lol.

I've downloaded the app CL refers to and it says my local airport at this time of day on a Monday is 0-15 minutes wait. Of course, this does not compare to MSY or HOU but it would be worth downloading the app and taking a look daily to see how the times are running for morning flights.

Cross posting with Jules...I did see that message come up on the app but does that mean the data is historical and not current?

editing: And funnily enough right now on CNN there is a piece on about back ups at certain airports. The graphic I glanced up and saw only showed East Coast or South airports as apparently the West never exists on the national channels.

Thanks for that clarification julesm I didn't check the app before posting, apologies! My home airport is keeping the info updated on their website (PDX wait times are under 12 minutes for general boarding this morning). the OP may want to see if their airport is doing the same.

Arrive whatever time you are comfortable with. I’m usually at O’Hare at least 4 hours before my flight because I always allow extra time for traffic. The problem with that is, depending on the airline, the check-in desk may not be open that early.

Not a problem CL. I imagine the app will be helpful in the future. I did look at the app very briefly. Of the airports I tagged as being "favorites", they all said 0-15 minutes. So, just a guess, but I'd say its not being managed.

Good suggestion to check the local airport website. Checking MSP's which said wait times at both terminals were 5 minutes or less, which is consistent with the TSA app, for what its worth.

I now have TSA precheck, but before that, I used spotsaver available at some airports. I found it helpful and time saving.

Just an FYI, I find the TikTok app to be very useful for on-the-ground, real time reporting on the big delays. Over the weekend there were multiple videos from people waiting in the lines in Houston and New Orleans.

Honestly, if the TSA agents aren’t being paid by April 8, I would expect that probably getting to the airport anytime won’t help. It’s going to come to the point where they won’t come to work.

( I know the threat is they will fire them all fire them all, but they may have to go find another job because they have to have money to pay their bills. )

Personally, I would not rely on TikTok to tell me how long the lines are. Because you need to remember with TikTok, it’s not about good information. It’s about getting viewers so let’s say they’re two lines in the Atlanta airport and one of them is really long and one of them is really short. Oh, I want to do a TikTok video and get attention I’ll only show the really long line because people like that kind of terror.

I fly out from SEA to RNO on Friday at 6:00pm. I guess I'll get there at 6:00am. Or maybe at 5:00am, just to be safe.

I hope this is resolved before I fly to France next month.

-- Mike Beebe

So a local tv station is live at MSP, partly because its spring break season and partly due to TSA issues. They just reported 10-40 minutes wait for TSA. IMO, that is not a long time. Longer than normal, but really not so bad. I just went to the MSP website and it is saying a 10 minute wait. So I wouldn't trust the website. However, wait times do vary widely during the day from hour to hour.

The news just said waits in Houston were about 3 hours.

I travel right after Easter from San Francisco (SFO) so hopefully things are smoother by then.
But I have CLEAR (and TSA-precheck), and I think CLEAR is still working fine which puts you up the front of the TSA line (I hope!).

TSA agents at SFO are private contract employees not federal employees.

Yes SFO is great place to fly out of.... The TSA isn't there ;)

Oh they are very much there. They just aren’t quite as grumpy as other places because they get paid.

I know TSA is at SFO but how did I not know it was private/contract? Makes me feel better about it.

Just an FYI, I find the TikTok app to be very useful for on-the-ground, real time reporting on the big delays.

The same for me, except for for me, it's Reddit instead of TikTok. People are out there talking about what is going on in real time.

It seems each airport is a unique circumstance.

Check the individual airport's website to see what it says about TSA wait time.
Definitely no 'one size fits all' answer.

And until the shutdown ends, I suspect the wait times at airports will get worse, not better.

Doubt any one will disagree with that statement.

Thanks for the information about SFO TSA agents being private contract employees. We fly out of SFO next month also.

The evening news I watched tonight shared a recommendation from (I don't remember who/where) to arrive 5 (FIVE) hours early to clear TSA.

I went through TSA Precheck at Raleigh-Durham (RDU) airport this morning at about 8:40 a.m. and it took me less than five minutes. This is about the same amount of time that it usually takes me when I am flying out of RDU (which I do often). I didn't notice any huge lines for the regular TSA lines. I arrived at the airport about three hours prior to my flight. Hopefully this will be resolved soon.

My next flight is at 7:45 in the morning. There’s no way I’m arriving at an airport at 2:45 in the morning to go through security.

Most (all?) USA airports show the current TSA wait times online. Of course they will fluctuate but at least you can make an informed decision as for when to get there.

Unfortunately a lot of airports are showing wait times based on TSA reporting and that's not working so I am not sure the airport website will always be reliable (I am looking at you Orlando International LOL!)

Just flew Monday out of DCA and it was completely normal and speedy in the precheck line. This is a very location dependent problem, one I expect to rotate among airports for the foreseeable future.

Thanks to all who have responded. This does seem to be airport-dependent. What I am seeing is that at some airports, few problems, and at others, huge problems. I am not sure whether the problems at a particular airport are random or recurrent because of staffing.

Midday local news reports that again MSP TSA lines are short. They are expecting a lot of travelers and possibly more issues at the end of March (peak spring break) I definitely would not trust TSA app wait times, and based on a little poking around yesterday, I wouldn't trust the airport websites.

I just got to Dulles and the TSA pre check was so fast I could hardly keep up. Fingers crossed coming back is as easy.

Luckily SFO is not affected by the matters pertaining to TSA, whereas OAK is. While I much prefer flying out of OAK than SFO under normal circumstances , I am glad SFO, given its pros /cons, is presently unaffected, a wise move.

Regardless , taking public transport, I arrive at the departing airport be it SFO or OAK normally 4 hours prior to the scheduled international departure. No problem waiting there.

On Tuesday, about 10 percent of TSA officers called in sick, which should result in only fairly minor delays. However, in some airports, the number of TSA personnel calling in sick is much greater--on Tuesday, 41 percent at Houston's Hobby, 36 percent in New Orleans, and 34 percent in Atlanta.

For those who really believe that your airport website is a good source of information

A couple of days ago I was watching the morning news in Atlanta. They were showing the lines at the Atlanta airport and a screen that’s there that said the wait for regular security ( not pre-check) was 100 minutes.

So I opened the Atlanta airport website

All waits were zero

As a frequent business traveler I have flown out of the Atlanta airport at 7 AM more times than I would like to admit. I can tell you that at 7 AM, The wait time is rarely zero for regular security.

Don’t trust the airport website

News reports show the problems nationwide are getting worse. I believe the Senate goes on Easter recess on March 28. If so and if no funding of TSA is approved before the recess, more TSA employees will be calling in sick, and the lines will get only longer.

Here, for reference, is a list of US airports with contract TSA screeners, which includes SFO, as mentioned, as well as MCI (Kansas City) and MCO (Orlando).

https://www.businessinsider.com/these-20-airports-dont-use-tsa-screeners-2026-3

If you already have PreCheck, and aren’t too concerned about data privacy, you can sign up for “touchless ID” (actually facial recognition) that lets you skip the PreCheck line. This has to be done on the airline’s website, and the service isn’t available at all airports, but apparently it’s a huge timesaver these days.

SeaTac has been surprisingly normal (unless you count the utter anarchy that was flying out the day it snowed last week). We'll see where we are on April 10th when we depart for Paris.

Also, they finally got the wait times website working again:

Your duration in TSA hell will be...

-- Mike Beebe

Thanks, Mike. My next flight is Easter Sunday. Sunrise service in the sky.

Per Carrie, arriving before a check in desk opens can be a plus.

When we arrived at JFK before the JAL desk opened, we were treated to an early taste of Japan.

The entire staff came out and bowed in unison to the awaiting passengers.

I was charmed!

I flew out of Portland, Maine (PWM) on Monday. I got there early concerned about a possible long line at security even though I have TSA PreCheck.

Not only was my wait under five minutes, every TSA agent I interacted with was friendly, and, they were training new agents.

I guess it depends on which airport you fly out of.

My flight was delayed nearly three hours due to poor weather but that's not due to any government shutdown.

Mike--Our flight to Iceland about 2 weeks ago was easy. We used checkpoint 1 though and there was no line at all. When we got up to the main level, the regular lines were a bit backed up, but pretty much the norm. My husband flies out tomorrow morning so I will be curious to see how it goes for him.

I flew out of ATL on Thursday very early. The departures area was pretty chaotic, but once I found the precheck line, it moved quickly and I was through in about 25 minutes. Clear was not open, neither were the Touchless ID lines.

Yesterday afternoon I flew out of IAH. No chaos there that I saw, and I was through precheck in 10 mins. Also, Clear was open.

When I landed in ATL last evening the general boarding line looked to be hours long, literally. It stretched all the way down the hall nearly to where you enter MARTA at the end of south terminal.

Something simply to monitor. It seems that certainly some airports and some regions have been more heavily impacted than others. I don't know whether at certain airports TSA personnel are coordinating the calling in of sick days, so that on some days the lines may be terribly long and on other days not long at all.

I do have a relative flying from California (not sure of the airport) to New Orleans next Wednesday or Thursday, and then flying home on March 31. I have an 11:30 a.m. flight scheduled for April 8. Fingers crossed.

OAK is adversely impacted by the TSA issue, whereas SFO is business as normal and usually. Glad about that. This is what is reported on the local radio news here.

It appears that George Bush in Houston and JFK also are experiencing three- and four-hour lines. Locally, at Armstrong in New Orleans, the lines are crazy because of TSA personnel calling in sick. Let's hope we get some positive news on funding this week.

My husband flew out of SEA yesterday morning and said he was through is less than 5 minutes. He does have Clear and Global though, and he did not say what the regular lines were like.

There were up to 4 hours waits at JFK yesterday but that may have been everyone flying south for Spring Break.

I am flying out of ATL this weekend I am dreading this!

CNN is currently reporting the line at IAH is 200 minutes, down from 260 minutes earlier in the day. If I heard correctly only 2 of 8 checkpoints are open.

A report from Atlanta this morning, 3/23/26

Got there at 10:41. OMG what chaos. Lines everywhere

Now here’s my trick. If your boarding pass says “priority” go to the north check in area. Walk all the way down past Frontier airlines and THEN follow the signs to North Check in. The priority line is ahead on the right. 10 minutes!!!!!!!!! Faster than precheck

Priority generally means you have status with an airline or are flying a premium cabin. There were people on line with me who said they paid for it. No idea how that worked

They do have the bomb sniffing dogs deployed which means at those checkpoints with dogs you leave shoes on etc.

Talking to people at the airport other lines seemed to be 2-3 hours

Pack your patience! I made sure to thank all the TSA agents I came in contact with

My trip to Paris is not until early May but my plane leaves at 7 am.

I am in Austin, TX and thus far, we are having no to minimal problems but who knows by May. Hopefully the situation will be resolved by May ......hopefully, but what if it is not.

I was listening to Peter Greenberg, an authority on travel, talk on CNN yesterday. He said that if you miss your plane because of the TSA problem, you are out of luck. You are on your own. The airline owes you nothing because you are only covered if there is. a problem with the airline, not with TSA. You mght just be out your money.

I have my flight insured through Allianz .

I am going to call and see if my insurance covers me should I miss my plane due to the TSA problems. Or can I buy additional insurance?

I can’t comment as to Austin, but last week we had an 0600 flight out of Washington National. We waited about 30 seconds, probably because it was one of the first flights out that morning. Be proactive. 0730 is pretty early. Take a look at your airport website to find out how many flights are going out before yours. If you want to be especially thorough, figure out if they are small regional carriers or regular larger aircraft. Flight numbers of regional carriers are always four digits, not three. Also take a look for how many TSA checkpoints there are. Those numbers will tell you a lot. If you’re still worried, maybe factor in a little extra time. With your mobility issues, even if you don’t regularly use wheelchair service, use it now. In a chair, you will bypass the worst of the congestion, be a lot more comfortable during any wait you do have, and get to your gate in plenty of time.

Based on what I am reading and seeing on the news, many, perhaps most, airports have not been materially affected. There, only 10 percent of TSA personnel have called in sick. But there are some airports where nearly 40 percent are calling in sick. When that happens, getting to the airport four hours early may not be enough.

And I usually check a bag when I fly. You cannot check your suitcase more than four hours before your flight.

And something I had not thought of is that if you miss your flight because getting to the airport three or four hours early was not early enough, you were responsible for missing the flight, and the airline is not coming to the rescue.

You cannot check your suitcase more than four hours before your
flight.

I can tell you from experience, this is not accurate. It will depend on the airline and airport. And some airlines are allowing for earlier check-in now because of the longer than usual security lines.

Thank you. Carrie. If I post anything that is not accurate, I welcome correction because I do not wish to mislead anyone. The four-hour rule has been my experience with Delta, but it certainly could be different based on airport and airline, and hopefully airlines ar the moment are extending any such rule.

PS I just saw that the general rule for Delta may be six hours. It appears I was mistaken. I usually fly on Delta but occasionally on Southwest. I seem to remember a few years ago there was a four-hour rule, but this may have been on Southwest. It is best to call the airline you are flying on and ask if this is a concern.

It’s my impression that the biggest problems with TSA is at the larger airports. We flew from Reno (RNO) to Seattle (SEA) on the 17th. The TSA pre line was very short and the regular line wasn’t much different. We arrived at the airport 3 hours early just in case.

For those who addressed my concerns about missing an early morning plane in Austin, TX. Thank you!

First I always sleep at the airport, in a chair. I get to the airport the night before. I am among the first in line at 4 am when security first opens. This is every time I fly which is about once a year.

Usually i check a bag but the airlines do not open until 4 am or later. If the TSA shutdown is still continuing, I am going to bring a smaller roller that I will bring on the plane and wear a sling bag.

Thus far no friends have had any problems getting though security because of the TSA slowdown but who knows by May. That is a long time to work without seeing a paycheck.

I am trying to think ahead.

I was listening to Peter Greenberg, an authority on travel, talk on CNN yesterday. He said that if you miss your plane because of the TSA problem, you are out of luck. You are on your own. The airline owes you nothing because you are only covered if there is. a problem with the airline, not with TSA. You mght just be out your money.

Well, I met several people at the ATL airport who were rebooked on later flights because of TSA delays so at least Delta appears to be trying to work with passengers.

Thank you Carol

Atlanta seems to be one of the airports most affected by TSA woes.

I am flying Delta to and from Paris. Glad to hear that they are helping or trying to.

I am sure that the TSA issue does impact larger airports, disproportionally.

That said, smaller airports are less able to adapt to fluctuations in passenger volumes. I just flew home from Lihue, Hawaii. I dropped my daughter at the airport for her flight while I got the car filled and returned. She used the regular TSA line and waited just minutes. I waited an hour, probably longer. I have precheck. Both lines were long. I noted there was only one agent manning both lines. She seemed to be alternating two people from the precheck line and then one from the regular line. Finally another agent arrived to manage the precheck line, maybe she just had come on the shift or maybe dinner break. However, there was still only one line for the luggage xray, etc. There were two other xray lines sitting idle.

My daughter had a Hawaiian air flight to Oahu. For me, Delta to Seattle. My guess is timing. My daughter arrived 1.75 hours before her small Hawaiian air flight while I arrived 2.5 hours ahead of my flight on a larger plane with many more people. The only other time I've flown out of Lihue, the line was only minutes long, so I'm sure there must have been more staff.

I connected in Seattle. I noted the TSA lines there were quite short during the time I was at the airport. Actually, for the last couple years Seattle TSA lines have been more manageable. They had been a complete nightmare when I'd traveled before that.

wanderlust58

I am eligible to request a wheelchair although I prefer not to. I can still walk and stand but standing for several hours can be an issue.

Requesting a wheelchair if the TSA shutdown continues has crossed my mind but a woman on TV was talking about needing to pay $100 for an attendant to stay with her and push her through the line.

There may not be enough wheelchairs or attendants with the back log.