Columbus airports' TSA lines normal as others face delays

Nathan Hart

• TSA lines at Columbus-area airports are operating normally despite long waits at other major U.S. airports.
• A partial government shutdown has resulted in unpaid TSA workers, leading to staffing shortages elsewhere.
• The shutdown stems from a congressional disagreement over funding for the Department of Homeland Security.
• Travelers should be aware that the MyTSA app for tracking wait times is not being updated during the shutdown.

TSA lines at John Glenn Columbus International Airport and Rickenbacker International Airport are operating normally while other airports across the country face hours-long waits for security screening, an airport spokesperson said.

"We're not experiencing any significant delays," Columbus Regional Airport Authority spokesperson Kati Hartwig told The Dispatch. "Everything's operating as normal at our checkpoints."

Air travelers at major airports in Atlanta, Houston, New Orleans and Charlotte found themselves stuck in long TSA lines over the weekend and into the week as unpaid TSA workers stopped showing up to work and spring break travelers packed the terminals. Some airports told passengers to arrive at the airport as early as three to four hours before their flights, Reuters reported.

Funding for the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees the TSA, lapsed Feb. 13 after Congress failed to reach an agreement on immigration enforcement reform.

Congressional Democrats want the White House and Congressional Republicans to agree to DHS reforms, like bans on ICE mask-wearing and immigration raids on schools and churches. House Speaker Mike Johnson has said that several of the Democrats' demands, including a ban on mask wearing, are nonstarters.

TSA workers are not getting paid during the partial shutdown. Their first fully missed paycheck will come March 13.

The federal government's MyTSA app, which allows passengers to track wait times at airports, is not being updated during the shutdown.

*Transportation and neighborhoods reporter Nathan Hart can be reached at *

[email protected],

@NathanRHarton X and

nathanhart.dispatch.comon Bluesky.