United States airport security officers missed their first full paycheck on Friday as a partial government shutdown approached the one-month mark, with no resolution in sight from the ongoing congressional deadlock disrupting travel nationwide.
The funding lapse has compelled thousands of Transportation Security Administration staff to continue working without pay during the peak spring travel season, sparking concerns over potential staffing shortages, extended security queues, and flight delays.
TSA officers, responsible for screening passengers, baggage, and cargo, had received only partial pay two weeks earlier.
The missed full paycheck on Friday marked the first complete loss of earnings since the shutdown started on February 14.
Unions and officials have warned that the mounting financial pressure is driving some workers to resign or pursue alternative employment.
More than 300 TSA employees have departed the agency since the shutdown commenced, according to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), while media reports indicate unscheduled absences have more than doubled.
Airports in various cities have advised passengers to arrive several hours earlier due to prolonged security lines.
Some officers are resorting to second jobs or depending on donations, union representatives noted, and several major airports have initiated collections of gift cards and established food pantries to support struggling TSA staff.
“Numerous employees have reported to me that their bank accounts are at zero or negative,” Johnny Jones, a Dallas-based official in government workers’ union AFGE, told USA Today.
“No funds for daycare, no funds for food. They just want to know why the hell they can’t get paid when we have money to shoot missiles into other countries.”
The shutdown originated from a disagreement over funding for the DHS, the sole federal department lacking an approved budget after Congress passed most other spending bills last year.
Democrats have refused to back funding for immigration enforcement agencies like Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection without accompanying reforms.
Republicans have deemed those conditions unacceptable and accused Democrats of avoiding genuine negotiations.
The impasse has intensified in the Senate, where Democrats have consistently blocked House-passed Republican bills to fund the department.
Republicans, meanwhile, rejected a Democratic plan that would fund other DHS components while deferring immigration enforcement issues.
“Thanks to the Democrats’ reckless shutdown, security lines at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport are stretching OUT THE DOOR,” the DHS said in a statement about long lines at the Texas hub.
“The Democrats’ political games are making spring break travel a NIGHTMARE as they continue to withhold funding from DHS and refuse to pay our (TSA) officers.”
Airports and travel organizations have cautioned that effects could worsen if the shutdown persists, as fatigued workers depart and further overburden national security operations.
“Democrats have tried — six separate times — to pass simple bills to keep these critical parts of DHS running while negotiations continue,” Senate Democratic Minority leader Chuck Schumer said in a statement.
“Six times Republicans came to the floor and blocked them. TSA officers shouldn’t miss paychecks, disaster relief shouldn’t be left hanging, and Americans’ safety shouldn’t be collateral damage in a political standoff Republicans created.”
