Longest TSA Wait Times in History: 4.5 Hours, Officers Selling Plasma
TSA wait times hit 4.5 hours — the worst in the agency's 24-year history. Officers working without pay for 5+ weeks are sleeping in cars and selling plasma. 480+ have quit. Callout rates hit 50% at some airports. World Cup screeners won't be ready.
TSA Acting Administrator Ha Nguyen McNeill testified to Congress on March 25, 2026: "This has led to the highest wait times in TSA history, with some wait times greater than four and a half hours." TSA officers have been working without pay for over five weeks after DHS funding lapsed on February 14.
The crisis is severe and worsening:
- Houston IAH: 270-minute (4.5-hour) wait times; up to 50% callout rate
- Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson: 4-hour waits; 41.5% callout rate
- New Orleans: 42.3% callout rate
- JFK New York: 76% callout rate during a blizzard
- 480+ TSA officers have quit since the shutdown began
- 500%+ increase in assaults on TSA officers
- 7 major airports have extended arrival guidance to 2.5-4 hours early
McNeill described the human toll: officers have "missed bill payments, received eviction notices, had cars repossessed or utilities shut off. Some are sleeping in their cars, selling their blood and plasma, and taking on second jobs to make ends meet."
The crisis was compounded by prior DOGE actions: 243 TSA probationary employees were fired in February 2025, government-wide hiring freezes reduced the pipeline of new screeners, and DHS cancelled TSA officers' collective bargaining agreement in March 2025 — ending a 7-year deal signed just 10 months earlier.
The Trump administration deployed ICE agents to airports in response — but ICE agents are not trained to operate screening equipment and cannot reduce checkpoint wait times. Meanwhile, Bloomberg reported that new TSA screeners will not be ready in time for the FIFA World Cup starting June 2026, which is expected to bring 6-10 million additional passengers.
Former TSA Administrator John Pistole warned that large crowds in unsecured areas and distracted, demoralized agents "could give would-be attackers a prime opportunity."