Posted on 03/17/2026 12:10:10 AM PDT by Libloather
Hundreds of TSA officers have quit over the federal budget battle that left them working without pay –fueling hours-long flight delays and Department of Homeland Security videos blaming Dems for the travel nightmare.
More than 300 TSA officers have tossed in the towel since the shutdown began Feb. 14, while a slew of other workers have been taking unscheduled absences, CBS News reported, citing internal TSA statistics.
Hobby Airport in Houston saw 53% of its TSA officers call out March 8 and 47% the next day, while other airports have seen double-digit call-out averages since the shutdown started.
John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City also has seen 21% of its TSA staff calling in sick in the past month, Atlanta International battled a 19% rate, and Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport was slammed with 14% calling out, CBS reported.
Those troubling rates were logged even before TSA officers missed their first paycheck Friday — with some airports seeing travelers standing in security lines for hours as their drastically depleted staff struggled to keep up with business.
Photos of Chicago’s O’Hare Airport on Sunday morning showed massive lines, with one traveler warning not to brave the wait “unless your life depends on it.”
Florida’s Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport had similar scenes Sunday morning, though both airports had cleared up by the afternoon.
Last weekend had similar chaos — with some airports across the country advising travelers to arrive upwards of five hours before their flights.
(Excerpt) Read more at nypost.com ...
When I travel, there always seems to be many TSA agents standing around talking. I once had money stolen from my bin, it was there on the way into the scanner, gone when I went to retrieve it. I asked the 4-5 TSA agents that were RIGHT THERE, “where’s my money?”. They just had a blank look, I asked again. Their reply, “It’s not our job to look out for that”.
Robbed in a “security line” - and it isn’t their job to stop it. Sorry if I have a lack of faith in them. The only reason 9/11 was successful was because we were naive...wouldn’t happen now. Paying for “pre-check” is just paying for normalcy.
The whole thing is a waste.
These "news" stories keep focusing on the 300 who quit but I suspect that's normal turnover. What's missing is the replacement for them.
But Chuckie and Hakeem will be on all the DNC propaganda platforms calling it the “Donald Trump Shutdown” and the idiot audience will believe every word. The democrats are expert shameless liars. The GOP needs to start fighting like democrats. Lie, cheat, steal, just like them. They are destroying the nation, and dare I say, the world.
I won’t rage because I won’t fly. I refuse to pay that much money to be treated that badly.
> I’d quit too if I had another job lined up.<
That part I agree with. The problem is most are not quitting. They’re just lazing at home knowing they will eventually get paid for not working. None are seeking employment to pay the bills. Who would hire, train, and incur the cost of hiring someone who will leave any second?
These people have proven they side with law breaking, criminal, illegal aliens. They deserve to be nowhere near anything security related.
If congress decides to budget to pay the TSA workers, the layabouts money should be distributed to the patriots who actually showed up to work.
EC
Y’all knows what goes around comes around.
50 years ago I was a “Henry”.
Adjusting for money in those days, that is basically
how I did housing, rentals and being a landlord.
Been retired 16 years now. I’m in the top 18%
of American earners.
Didn’t drive the fanciest new cars, didn’t have the fanciest homes, and didn’t eat out much, but we were very very comfortable.
I like being a “Henry”.
I’m a healthy, out of shape, 70 years old now.
If you are young and avoid the “I want it all and
I want it NOW! mentality,
you can do just fine on a good
STEM education and patience.
My resentment? I would be more concerned about your support for big government.
Good point. If you have some stash in the bank account why work if you can use family time off or sick leave. I doubt many would use vacation days...
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