By Megan Cerullo
March 27, 2026 / 3:42 PM EDT / CBS News
Long security lines snarled airports across the country Friday as Transportation Security Administration officers missed another paycheck during the partial government shutdown. Travel analysts say the worst of the delays could ease within days once staff are paid, but passengers should brace for continued disruption until then.
President Trump, acknowledging the urgency of restoring pay for screeners, ordered Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin to ensure TSA employees are paid immediately. At the president’s direction, the Department of Homeland Security told CBS News that “TSA has immediately begun the process of paying its workforce,” and that officers may start receiving pay as early as Monday, March 30.
Lawmakers remain at odds over DHS funding. The Senate passed a funding measure that the House rejected, and House Speaker Mike Johnson said the chamber would put forward its own proposal. Meanwhile, travel experts caution that lines and delays are likely to persist until paychecks are actually delivered.
This is the second time in less than a year TSA employees have worked without pay, a pattern that has driven higher call-out rates and pushed some staff to resign. On Thursday, TSA call-out rates climbed to nearly 12 percent — the highest level since the shutdown began — and the agency reported that more than 500 agents have quit amid the funding stalemate.
“After the last shutdown, as soon as money hit their accounts, worker sickouts dropped dramatically,” said Clint Henderson of The Points Guy. He added that recovery in screening times has varied, taking anywhere from two days to two weeks after paychecks hit accounts for wait times to return to typical levels. “Once the money starts flowing again, it will be great for passengers,” Henderson said, while noting each unpaid day compounds staffing challenges.
Officials and analysts also warn of longer-term consequences. Repeated stretches of unpaid work damage morale, make recruiting new officers more difficult, and require the agency to hire and train replacements — steps that can extend disruptions beyond the immediate pay issue.
Edited by Aimee Picchi
In: United States Department of Homeland Security; Transportation Security Administration