Well, here we go again. Travelers heading to the airport this weekend face plenty of uncertainty after part of the federal government shut down overnight.
The good news: Air travel disruptions shouldn’t be anywhere near as bad as we saw last fall during the longest government shutdown in history.
But if this latest stalemate continues, it could (eventually) lead to long lines at airport security checkpoints.
What happened?
Shortly after midnight Saturday, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security ceased many of its operations after lawmakers on Capitol Hill were unable to reach a funding agreement.
TSA working without pay
While much of the current debate in Washington has surrounded U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement, the DHS also oversees an agency critical to airport operations: the Transportation Security Administration.
Now, 95% of TSA employees are considered essential federal workers. So, you certainly won’t see airport checkpoints close down. Officers will (once again) be expected to report to work without the promise of an immediate paycheck.
Will they keep showing up?
That’s always the big question when you ask people to work without pay.
Weeks into last fall’s government shutdown, there was a rash of callouts at one point in Houston, which led to multihour security backups both at George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH) and William P. Hobby Airport (HOU).
But by and large, TSA checkpoints generally ran smoothly, leaving hope that travelers should avoid major delays — though, as we’ve seen in past shutdowns, the longer things drag out, the more the impacts tend to grow.
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What about customs at airports?
We’ll also be keeping a close eye on wait times at airport passport control centers.
Those are staffed by U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers — part of DHS — who, like TSA officers, will have to work without pay until the department is back up and running.
Flight delays unlikely
Here’s the good news: Unlike the fall government hiatus, we shouldn’t see mass flight cancellations and delays.
Congress has already funded the U.S. Department of Transportation, which oversees the Federal Aviation Administration and air traffic control.
That means the workers in our control towers and FAA facilities won’t have to work without pay like they did in the fall, which is what fueled the mass work callouts and resulting air travel woes.
National parks won’t close
National parks will also remain open since the U.S. Department of the Interior is already funded. So will popular federally funded landmarks and attractions like the Smithsonian museums in Washington.
What should you do if you’re flying?
If I were flying in the coming days, I would closely monitor reports about airport operations for any word of major TSA backups.
It certainly couldn’t hurt to get to the terminal a little earlier than you otherwise would. Follow the airport you’re flying out of on social media for any alerts about longer-than-expected wait times.
But don’t count on the ordinarily handy MyTSA app, which usually tracks live checkpoint wait times but didn’t function during last fall’s shutdown.
If you are a TSA PreCheck member (or get your TSA PreCheck access via Global Entry), be sure you’ve opted into the new and quickly expanding TSA PreCheck Touchless ID program. It’s faster than regular TSA PreCheck, doesn’t cost anything extra and is available at a fast-growing list of airports.
Just be sure to opt in with your airline ahead of time.
What about passport control?
If you’re flying into the U.S. from abroad, Global Entry remains the gold standard for getting through passport control quickly.
But if you’re not a Global Entry member, you can still shortcut the line at many international hubs by using the complimentary Mobile Passport Control program.
Long-term concerns
While there’s plenty of hope that this smaller-scale partial government shutdown won’t lead to widespread travel delays, concerns remain for the long term.
In a report to Congress this week, the TSA’s top leader said last fall’s shutdown led to a 25% spike in officers leaving the agency’s workforce.
That came as the TSA aimed to staff up ahead of this summer’s FIFA World Cup in the U.S., raising concerns about security backups.
“Another shutdown would severely impact TSA’s ability to meet these personnel needs,” Ha Nguyen McNeill, the TSA’s acting administrator, said Wednesday.
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