By Liz Moyer
Spring break travelers are facing an extra dose of frustration as airport security lines snake on for hours.
The line at Atlanta's airport was 153 minutes long as early as 6 a.m. Eastern time on Sunday, according to reports on social media, with travelers forced to navigate a wait for security screening that stretched through the baggage claim area.
Another social media post reported "massive" TSA chaos at New York's LaGuardia airport, where the line was two hours long. A video posted on X showed the line stretching the length of the terminal building.
LaGuardia's own social media account said longer than typical lines might happen at security checkpoints "due to staffing impacts from the federal funding lapse." It urged travelers to plan ahead and arrive early.
Newark International Airport security lines were 116 minutes long as of Sunday morning, according to Qsensor, a real-time airport tracking platform.
Qsensor reported the wait at Houston George Bush International was about 50 minutes long, though earlier reports said lines there this weekend were as much as two hours long.
New Orleans Airport put a statement on social media urging passengers to arrive three hours ahead of their scheduled departures because security wait times could be up to two hours. It also said as of this morning, TSA PreCheck and Priority Screening aren't available, though Clear is available to those who are currently enrolled.
More than 400 workers from the Transportation Security Administration, which runs airport checkpoints, have quit since the government shutdown in February. The shutdown has meant TSA officers are working but not being paid.
Some TSA workers are calling out sick. President Donald Trump has ordered agents from the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency to airports starting Monday to aid TSA.
Many have called out sick, resulting in hourslong lines at some airports around the country.
White House border czar Tom Homan told Fox News Sunday that ICE agents would be acting as a force multiplier. "We're going to relieve TSA and augment TSA where we are trained in security and be able to do that."
Elon Musk, the world's richest person and Tesla CEO, said on his social media feed that he is offering to pay the salaries of TSA personnel during the funding freeze "that is negatively affecting the Lives of so many Americans at airports throughout the country."
Write to Liz Moyer at liz.moyer@barrons.com
This content was created by Barron's, which is operated by Dow Jones & Co. Barron's is published independently from Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
March 22, 2026 12:57 ET (16:57 GMT)
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