We’re now several weeks into the latest partial government shutdown, which means many federal workers aren’t receiving paychecks. Perhaps the most public impacts of this are felt at airports, and there are some statistics that I think are worth covering.
How many TSA agents are calling in sick for work?
One of the (many) big stories in recent days and weeks has been how long security lines have been at many airports in the United States. As you’d expect, TSA agents are increasingly calling in sick, as they haven’t received a paycheck in weeks. It’s totally unfair how they’re pawns in all of this, as they can’t even afford to come to work, in terms of paying for childcare, gas, etc.
Along those lines, how bad is the situation really? Of course the narrative nationally is that security lines are hours long, yet on both flights I’ve taken in the past week, security took under five minutes. Kris Van Cleave shares some interesting statistics about TSA sick calls:
- On Sunday, March 15, 2026, 10% of TSA officers nationwide called in sick, which is 5x the usual rate (around 2%); this number has been increasing considerably day-by-day, particularly on weekends
- Houston Hobby Airport (HOU) has been among the worst in the country for sick calls, and on Sunday, March 15, 2026, the airport had 55% of screeners call in sick, compared to 41% the Sunday prior
Also, while not related to sick calls, 366 TSA officers have quit since the shutdown began. There are around 50,000 throughout the system, so that’s around 0.7% of the workforce.
It seems logical that the number of sick calls would increase on weekends and also over spring break, purely from a childcare perspective, as parents can’t afford childcare when they’re not getting paid. So in terms of security lines, I think those are probably the times to be most worried about disproportionately long waits.
I’m curious how soon until the “system” breaks
Over the years, many government shutdowns have been ended due to the impact that a lack of paychecks has on our aviation ecosystem, particularly for air traffic controllers and TSA agents.
What makes this particular situation different is that air traffic controllers are being paid, while TSA agents aren’t. That’s because TSA agents are part of the Department of Homeland Security (which isn’t being funded), while air traffic controllers are part of the Department of Transportation (which is being funded).
So I have to imagine this shutdown would end sooner if air traffic controllers weren’t being paid (not that I’d wish that on them). That’s because nothing makes national headlines and causes alarm quite like a situation where nearly all air traffic controllers at an airport call in sick.
The trend here is clear — the number of sick calls keeps increasing — and I feel like we’re at most one or two weeks from some airports just being completely unusable. In Houston, we’re seeing a 7-8% increase per week (admittedly only across a few weeks), and if that continues, well…
President Trump addressed the TSA situation in a social media post a few days ago, telling officers to go back to work:
Thank you to Johnny Jones and all of our GREAT TSA Agents who are going to work but not being paid because the Radical Left Democrats refuse to honor the deal that was approved and voted on in Congress. They want your money to go to “Border Criminals, Murderers, foreign Drug Dealers, and some of the worst people on earth.” They don’t want it to go to you. Keep fighting for the USA. GO TO WORK! I promise that I will never forget you!!! President DJT
Meanwhile House Speaker Mike Johnson posted the following last night:
Delayed at the airport? Thank a Democrat.
Democrats have voted REPEATEDLY to PROTECT criminal illegal aliens and PREVENT our own American TSA agents from getting paychecks.
Democrats have chosen to make the American people suffer just so illegal aliens can stay in our country.
Bottom line
TSA officers haven’t been getting paychecks for several weeks now, which is really unfair (especially given that they dealt with the same thing just months ago). While the staffing issues are a bit uneven, one thing is for sure — this situation is getting worse.
This past weekend, around 10% of officers nationwide called in sick, while one airport (Houston Hobby) saw 55% of officers call in sick. I’m curious how much longer we have until the system basically shuts down nationally.
How do you see the TSA situation playing out in the coming weeks?
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