2,700 Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officers, nearly 10% of the agency’s workforce, called in sick on Tuesday.
According to ABC News, Atlanta and New Orleans saw the biggest impact.
About 40% of officers called out in each airport.
Nearly 10% or 2,700 TSA officers across the country called in sick Tuesday, according to TSA data first obtained by @ABC News. https://t.co/7q1XT7UUv0
— ABC News (@ABC) March 18, 2026
ABC News explained further:
After the partial government shutdown began for the Department of Homeland Security (which oversees TSA) on Feb. 14, TSA employees received a paycheck initially as funding dried up. Those employees received their first $0 paycheck of this shutdown last week, and the rate of unscheduled absences and callouts spiked, according to TSA statistics obtained by ABC News.
Monday remains the day with the highest callout rate of the shutdown so far, with 10.22% of officers not showing up to work at airports nationwide.
ABC News has producers at several of the airports that have seen the longest wait times in the past.
Though most airports have not seen any significant issues Wednesday, the agency warns it could be forced to shut down smaller airports if Congress isn’t able to reach a deal to fund the Department of Homeland Security and the shutdown continues.
More than 300 TSA employees have left the agency since the ongoing DHS shutdown began.
“3+ hour TSA lines for travelers. 300+ TSA officers who have quit. A $0 paycheck for those continuing to serve. Enough is enough,” TSA stated.
“No more playing politics with the lives of Americans. The Democrat shutdown of DHS must end now,” it added.
3+ hour TSA lines for travelers.
300+ TSA officers who have quit.
A $0 paycheck for those continuing to serve.
Enough is enough.
No more playing politics with the lives of Americans. The Democrat shutdown of DHS must end now. pic.twitter.com/VsHc71TOA9
— TSA (@TSA) March 14, 2026
“Over a hundred airports in the United States have around one or two lanes,” Acting Deputy Administrator Adam Stahl told ABC News.
“And if we have a certain amount of callouts increase, we might have to quite literally collapse those lanes and close those lanes, which could temporarily halt operations at that airport,” Stahl added.
Airports could be forced to close if Dem DHS shutdown drags on, TSA official warns: ‘We’re fully stretched’ https://t.co/4i5TaRDZAA pic.twitter.com/aYajUPeDXC
— New York Post (@nypost) March 17, 2026
More from the New York Post:
Funding for the TSA and other parts of the DHS lapsed Feb. 14 due to Senate Democrats’ filibustering of a GOP-passed DHS appropriations bill, demanding sweeping concessions on immigration enforcement policy.
ICE and Border Patrol were fully funded as part of a previous bill.
Republicans have agreed to some of their demands, such as deploying body cameras, and the Trump administration wound down its massive immigration sweep in Minnesota.
But other demands, such as tighter warrant requirements and a ban on mask-wearing, have been red lines for the GOP.
DHS has been able to pay some categories of workers, including law enforcement officers in Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Customs and Border Protection, and the US Secret Service, as well as US Coast Guard military personnel.
But some of the support staff in those agencies aren’t getting paid, and neither are TSA workers.
This is the third funding lapse within the past six months that has impacted TSA workers.
“I talked to one officer this week. She’s a single mother, and she has a special needs child, and she can’t afford to pay for her special needs child care,” Stahl recounted.
“It’s frankly unconscionable that we have Senate Democrats that are … holding our folks’ financial livelihood hostage over political games, political partizanship.”
