What Happened?

Government shutdowns are making air travel more chaotic, and a new report warns the problem is getting worse. The Congressional Research Service published a report titled "Federal Government Shutdowns and the Impact on Civil Aviation". ​

The 75-day Department of Homeland Security (DHS) funding lapse that began in mid-February was the longest partial government shutdown in U.S. history. During that lapse, about 460 Transportation Security Administration (TSA) screeners resigned in just five weeks, and nationwide callout rates jumped from about 4 percent to about 11 percent on shutdown days, nearly three times the normal rate.

Under current law, TSA cannot spend the security fees passengers already pay at the ticket counter during a funding lapse, even though those fees covered about 26 percent of the agency's aviation security costs in fiscal 2025.

Why Does it Matter to Me?

Airlines for America reported more than 15,600 staffing-related delays and more than 7,100 staffing-related flight cancellations during the 2025 shutdown. Checkpoint wait times reached up to 3.5 hours at one Houston airport and 4 hours at another.

During the 43-day shutdown in October and November 2025, about 1,100 screeners left the Transportation Security Administration, roughly 25 percent more than in the same period the year before.

Both Sides, Now

Rep. Nick Langworthy (R-NY) introduced the Pay TSA Act of 2026, which would create a Transportation Security Trust Fund, a dedicated account financed by passenger security fees, that the agency could draw on even when Congress has not passed a spending bill. The fund would expressly prioritize screener salaries, benefits and overtime during a lapse.

On Nov. 4, 2025, travelers at Houston's Bush Intercontinental Airport faced TSA lines of up to three hours, with airport officials attributing the delays to staffing callouts caused by the DHS shutdown, according to the Houston Chronicle.

The Department of Transportation's shutdown plan, issued in January 2026, expressly excepts air traffic controller hiring and training from furlough, a broader list than in earlier DOT plans. The report outlines options for Congress, including automatic stopgap spending and changing the fee rules so TSA could spend collected passenger fees without a new appropriation.

What Happens Next?

The Pay TSA Act of 2026 was referred to the House Committee on Homeland Security this past March and remains in committee. The committee would need to advance the bill before the full House could vote on it, and the Senate would also need to pass it before it could become law. The 75-day DHS lapse was more than twice as long as the 34-day 2018–2019 partial shutdown, which had previously drawn congressional scrutiny over aviation disruptions.

Will Congress act to protect airport security funding before the next shutdown hits?

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