{"id":11610,"date":"2026-03-30T22:58:08","date_gmt":"2026-03-30T22:58:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/news\/11610\/"},"modified":"2026-03-30T22:58:08","modified_gmt":"2026-03-30T22:58:08","slug":"airport-waits-easing-as-tsa-says-its-officers-got-paid","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/news\/11610\/","title":{"rendered":"Airport waits easing as TSA says its officers got paid"},"content":{"rendered":"

Frustrating security lines<\/a> dwindled at U.S. airports Monday, clearing the worst bottlenecks as Transportation Safety Administration officers began receiving backpay for working during the government shutdown.<\/p>\n

What was a four-hour checkpoint line<\/a> at Houston\u2019s George Bush Intercontinental Airport turned into a wait of 10 minutes or less. In previous trouble spots such as Atlanta and Baltimore-Washington International Airport, travelers were moving smoothly to their flights.<\/p>\n

After weeks of airport chaos, there was finally optimism for the beleaguered aviation system.<\/p>\n

Weary travelers hope the overdue paychecks will end the seemingly endless security lines<\/a> and missed flights many experienced. It remains unknown how long federal immigration officers will maintain a visible presence in airport terminals as the busy spring break travel season continues.<\/p>\n

TSA workers told union leadership Monday that they received some \u2014 but not all \u2014 of their back pay, according to Johnny Jones, secretary-treasurer of the TSA chapter of the American Federation of Government Employees. He said the rest is expected by next week. Some employees also reported incorrect backpay amounts, including missing overtime, the union said.<\/p>\n

What about the TSA officers who couldn\u2019t work without pay?<\/p>\n

The union said the TSA updated its furlough policy on Sunday, removing guidance that allowed officers to request a furlough if they could not report to work for reasons tied to the shutdown, such as lack of transportation or childcare.<\/p>\n

\u201cWorking without pay forced more than 500 officers to leave TSA and thousands were forced to call out,\u201d acting TSA Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis said in announcing the delayed payday.<\/p>\n

The union agreed with these numbers, but said those who could not afford to report for duty now \u201chave disciplinary actions looming over their heads.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBackpay alone does not fix those problems,\u201d the union said.<\/p>\n

The AP emailed TSA and DHS seeking comment and additional details on the agency\u2019s furlough guidance.<\/p>\n

The DHS shutdown<\/a> resulted in not only travel delays<\/a> but also warnings of airport closures<\/a> as TSA workers who were only just recovering financially from last fall\u2019s extended government shutdown stopped going to work. TSA employees had gone without pay since DHS funding lapsed in February. <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\n AP AUDIO: Some wait times at airport bottlenecks are easing with TSA paychecks promised\n <\/p>\n

AP correspondent Julie Walker reports TSA agents will soon be paid but it may not mean immediate relief at airport security lines.<\/p>\n

Other agencies affected<\/a> by this latest shutdown include the Secret Service and the Federal Emergency Management Agency. <\/p>\n

What Congress is doing about partial shutdown<\/p>\n

President Donald Trump<\/a> on Friday ordered the Department of Homeland Security to pay TSA officers immediately<\/a> to ease the lines plaguing airports. Trump had rejected bipartisan efforts to fund the TSA while negotiations over ICE continue with Democrats, who have refused<\/a> to approve more funding without restraints on Trump\u2019s immigration enforcement and mass deportation operations<\/a>. Trump\u2019s order left other DHS employees unpaid.<\/p>\n

Democrats are demanding<\/a> that ICE agents wear cameras, identify themselves and operate without masks. They also want judges to decide whether to issue their warrants, and they want ICE raids to avoid schools, churches or other sensitive places. <\/p>\n

Republicans and the White House have been willing to negotiate on some points, but a final agreement remains elusive.<\/p>\n

On Monday, there were few signs of progress on Capitol Hill. Senators held a short session without considering the House bill, then resumed their two-week break. <\/p>\n

The union again urged Congress to approve funding for the entire Department of Homeland Security. \u201cTo say we are utterly disgusted and disappointed with our elected officials is an understatement,\u201d the union said.<\/p>\n

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Monday that Trump has offered to host an Easter Dinner for members of Congress who return to resolve the impasse. As for the Democrats\u2019 demands, she said \u201cthere has not been a change in policy.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt has always been the policy of this president and this administration to deport the worst of the worst illegal alien criminals,\u201d Leavitt said.<\/p>\n

As for the ICE agents Trump deployed to some airports<\/a> a week ago to help with security, White House border czar Tom Homan said how long they stay depends on how quickly TSA employees return to work.<\/p>\n

___<\/p>\n

Associated Press contributors include Rio Yamat in Las Vegas and Mary Clare Jalonick and Will Weissert in Washington.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Frustrating security lines dwindled at U.S. airports Monday, clearing the worst bottlenecks as Transportation Safety Administration officers began…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":11611,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[2494,2662,112,38,50,8,366,3167,839,3161,6467,475,9,67,473,7,2470,165,2495,480,54,69],"class_list":{"0":"post-11610","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-top-stories","8":"tag-airport-security","9":"tag-atlanta","10":"tag-business","11":"tag-donald-trump","12":"tag-general-news","13":"tag-headlines","14":"tag-houston","15":"tag-johnny-jones","16":"tag-karoline-leavitt","17":"tag-labor-unions","18":"tag-lauren-bis","19":"tag-minnesota-ice-crackdown","20":"tag-news","21":"tag-politics","22":"tag-tom-homan","23":"tag-top-stories","24":"tag-transportation-security-administration","25":"tag-u-s-department-of-homeland-security","26":"tag-u-s-government-shutdown","27":"tag-u-s-immigration-and-customs-enforcement","28":"tag-u-s-news","29":"tag-washington-news"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@news\/116320606819579785","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11610","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11610"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11610\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11611"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11610"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11610"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11610"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}