Airport Closures Loom as TSA Workers Miss Paychecks, Experts Warn

Federal aviation officials warn that smaller airports across the nation may temporarily shut down due to severe TSA staffing shortages caused by unpaid workers. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy and TSA leadership expect more security screeners to quit or call out sick after missing their second consecutive paycheck since mid-February.

Aviation disruptions across the United States may escalate far beyond lengthy security queues and canceled flights unless Congress resolves how to compensate Transportation Security Administration workers. Federal transportation leaders have cautioned that personnel shortages could force temporary shutdowns of smaller airports nationwide.

Although no particular facilities have been publicly identified as closure candidates, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy and TSA leadership anticipate additional airport security personnel will resign or skip work shifts following Friday’s deadline, when TSA staff were scheduled to miss their second consecutive full paycheck since mid-February.

TSA employees have been mandated to report for duty without compensation since Department of Homeland Security funding expired on February 14.

“This level of disruption is unprecedented,” said Ha Nguyen McNeill, the agency’s acting administrator, referring to the financial pressure on TSA employees that has resulted in elevated absence rates. “We are being forced to consolidate lanes, and may have to close smaller airports if we do not have enough officers.”

During Wednesday’s House committee testimony, McNeill declined to specify when potential closures might begin. She characterized the TSA workforce shortage as “a fluid, challenging and unpredictable situation.”

The head of the TSA workers’ union revealed Thursday that the agency compiled a roster of approximately 75 airports that could face closure to redistribute personnel to major transportation hubs experiencing extended security delays. This strategy could impact smaller facilities located near large airports, not exclusively tiny locations with minimal staffing operating single checkpoints.

“The agency has to look at it as, ‘Wow man, at the end of the day, we still have to do essential work and protect the American people.’ It becomes very difficult to do when you have this going on,” explained Johnny Jones, secretary and treasurer for Council 100 of the American Federation of Government Employees.

Approximately 11% of security officers across the country failed to report for scheduled duties this week, though certain airports experienced absence rates exceeding 40% on particular days, according to DHS data. Travelers waiting in enormous security queues have packed terminal areas and extended beyond building entrances at various times in Houston, New Orleans and Atlanta.

Thursday brought White House consideration of declaring a national emergency as an exceptional measure to compensate TSA employees, though specific implementation details remained uncertain.

Aviation security specialist Sheldon Jacobson, whose research helped develop TSA PreCheck, suggested that Trump administration officials appear to be raising airport closure possibilities as leverage to push Congress toward a DHS funding agreement.

“This is a situation that, once again, the politicians are trying to move the needle to get people to compromise by making threats. Are these threats realistic? Yes. Are they a good idea? No,” Jacobson stated.

Jacobson and fellow aviation analysts indicated this messaging also implies that deploying federal immigration agents to assist airports with security staffing challenges has proven unsuccessful.

White House representatives claimed ICE personnel helped decrease wait times through crowd monitoring and identification verification. TSA union representatives and other critics dismissed this approach as ineffective, contending that immigration agents lack necessary training and background.

Major airports employing hundreds of officers can shut down certain checkpoints and TSA PreCheck lanes while maintaining operations. The smallest among 440 U.S. airports with security screening lack this flexibility.

Smaller facilities operating only one checkpoint might require temporary closure if insufficient officers are available to staff them. This scenario could occur when multiple personnel fail to appear for any particular shift.

Small airports have “a smaller pool of people that you can draw from to keep the airport open,” noted Eric Chaffee, a Case Western Reserve law professor specializing in risk management, including aviation industry analysis. Larger facilities, conversely, are typically “much better able to absorb a handful of people calling out.”

These airport shutdowns would likely occur “unevenly,” Chaffee predicted — potentially affecting facilities from those with few gates to small regional centers. However, he cautioned that any temporary closure of small airports could create cascading effects throughout the broader air traffic network because it represents a “highly interconnected web.”

Aviation specialists emphasized consequences for the entire transportation system.

“Every airport, no matter its size, has some impact to the National Airspace System,” stated airport security expert Jeff Price.

University of Illinois professor Jacobson noted that airlines depend on passengers from small airports to complete their flight capacity at major hubs.

Others highlighted broader community impacts from smaller airport disruptions.

“Despite the fact that we’re talking about small regional airports, this is a big deal,” Chaffee emphasized, citing disruptions for businesses and travelers alike. “Ultimately, if this does occur, having to drive a half hour to an airport is a lot different than having to drive three hours to an airport.”

Should flight operations cease at smaller airports, nearby communities and their economies could suffer significantly, particularly hospitality and tourism businesses. Airport employees including custodial staff and restaurant and retail workers serving travelers could also face job losses.

Meanwhile, financial hardships would continue mounting for unpaid TSA officers.

Given numerous potential economic consequences from air travel disruptions, Jacobson warned “We are playing with fire right now when we are threatening such a large contributor to our GDP.”