ATLANTA — Long security lines snaked through the domestic terminal at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport on Sunday, leaving some weary travelers frustrated as they waited to reach their checkpoints.
The crowds formed just days after TSA agents missed their first full paycheck as the Department of Homeland Security continues to go without funding.
At Atlanta’s airport, travelers formed parallel lines as they moved through security at the domestic terminal. A digital sign showed wait times ranging from four minutes for TSA PreCheck passengers to more than an hour at the main checkpoint.
Despite the long lines and exhausted faces of those waiting in them, most appeared calm. Hartsfield-Jackson serves as one of Delta Air Lines’ travel hubs and is among the busiest airports in the country.
Laronda Monteiro, who lives in Atlanta, arrived three hours early for her flight to New Orleans, telling NBC News that it paid off as she stood in line.
“I know we have to be secure, and I just appreciate those who are still with TSA, remaining on the job,” Monteiro said. “I can wait for the safety and security.”
Morgan Young, who was traveling back to Washington, said she “doesn’t love” the travel disruptions as she waited in the TSA line. Young normally flies using CLEAR, a private security program that costs about $200 a person, but that option wasn’t available on Sunday.
“It’s stressful, honestly,” Young said. “I feel like Atlanta airport runs as smooth as possible, but it is stressful for sure. And more stressful for the people who aren’t getting paid and are at work.”
It’s been disappointing for Ezer Gill, who waited to get through security so he could return home to Fort Lauderdale. He said it was upsetting to see people suffering while the government remains at an impasse.
“Air travel is an essential part of how our country operates, and if we can’t get to where we need to go, it’s going to affect a lot of people,” Gill said. “It’s affecting me and a lot of the other people, I’ve heard.”
Democratic lawmakers have delayed Republican efforts to pass a new bill to fund DHS after expressing serious concerns over how the the embattled agency has handled immigration enforcement. Funding for DHS expired on Feb. 13, and Democrats are insisting on reforms to Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection before they approve a new appropriation bill.
TSA workers are considered essential employees who must continue working without pay. They received a partial paycheck following the shutdown and missed their first full paycheck on Friday.
More than 300 TSA employees have quit since February, according to the agency.
Similar scenes to those in Atlanta were captured at airports in Fort Lauderdale, Philadelphia, Austin and Chicago.
Videos shared online showed lengthy waits at airports in major cities across the country. One traveler at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport in Texas posted a video on TikTok of a winding queue at 2 a.m. and advised others to arrive hours early for their flights.
The poster said she arrived four hours early and still missed her 2:30 a.m. flight. Some commenters said the situation improved later Sunday morning.
That experience seems to track with reports from Austin’s airport, which has been posting updates on its social media. According to the airport’s posts on X, the lines were “very long” in the early hours on Sunday but had subsided a few hours later.
Another person posted a video Sunday morning from Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport that showed a line winding back on itself at least three times based on their vantage point. The individual who posted it wrote in the comments that it took roughly two hours to make it through security.
TSA acknowledged the long wait times in a post on its social media Saturday, urging Democrats to end the partial shutdown.
“A $0 paycheck for those continuing to serve,” the agency wrote on X. “Enough is enough. No more playing politics with the lives of Americans.”
A spokesperson for DHS did not immediately respond to a request for comment from NBC News on Sunday.
Anthony Riley, 58, has continued working at Syracuse Hancock International Airport during the shutdown but worries he may be homeless soon if nothing changes. He told NBC News last week that he lost his car during the government shutdown last year and doesn’t have any savings to fall back on.
“The problem is that my credit rating was wrecked by the last government shutdown when I was working and not getting paid,” Riley said.
Riley has three teenage children, and his wife, Keya, is awaiting a kidney donation. Without reliable transportation, he worries about how they would get to Rochester if an organ becomes available.
While Riley says he’s been horrified by the violent incidents he’s seen during immigration enforcement, he’s not sure how much longer he can go without a paycheck.
He’s been working with a Legal Aid lawyer to avoid eviction and hopes to work out a rent payment plan at a hearing later this month.
“But my lawyer told us to be prepared to leave in 30 days if it doesn’t work out,” Riley said. “Right now, I’m doing everything I can to keep my family from being kicked out on the street.”
Aaron Gilchrist and Dan Gallo reported from Atlanta. Doha Madani reported from New York City.
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