After weeks of huge lines, TSA waits at America's busiest airport have plummeted from 4 hours to 5 minutes

Lines at Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport last Wednesday. Wait times dropped to just a few minutes early on Tuesday. Megan Varner/Getty Images 2026-03-31T10:36:17.815Z Share Copy link Email Facebook WhatsApp X LinkedIn Bluesky Threads lighning bolt icon An icon in the shape of a lightning bolt.

Impact Link Save Saved Read in app This story is available exclusively to Business Insider subscribers. Become an Insider and start reading now. Have an account? Log in. Wait times have dropped sharply at several US airports since TSA agents started receiving paychecks. Atlanta previously faced lines up to four hours, but these were down to a few minutes on Tuesday. Baltimore airport on Monday said it was seeing a "return to normal." AI-generated summary Summaries are generated by an AI model trained on Business Insider's articles. AI may make mistakes or provide inaccurate/incomplete information. We're unable to load that answer right now. Please try again. What led to TSA staffing shortages? Why is Atlanta airport so busy? How does the shutdown affect airport operations? How do TSA delays impact travelers? What role does Congress play in TSA funding? It looks like the worst of the airport chaos is coming to an end. Loading audio narration... Wait times at security checkpoints have plummeted at Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, which was one of the hardest hit by Transportation Security Administration staffing shortages.While last week it warned passengers of four-hour lines, its website listed waits of less than five minutes at all checkpoints just after 6:20 a.m. ET. The airport had previously suspended this feature during the peak of the staffing shortages, instead displaying a message telling people to expect four-hour waits in line.Delta Air Lines' main hub, Hartsfield-Jackson, is also the world's busiest airport by passenger numbers, handling over 100 million last year. It's an especially busy time for flying, too, as people travel for Spring Break.Atlanta is not the only place where TSA wait times have dropped sharply this week. Houston's George Bush Intercontinental Airport also suffered from four-hour wait times last week. But on Tuesday morning, its website showed lines of a maximum of 30 minutes. New York's John F. Kennedy and LaGuardia airports have also restored their websites' estimated wait-times feature. Lines at JFK were the longest of any airport monitored by Business Insider, with a wait of 43 minutes, while Newark had 20-minute lines.Baltimore airport, which handles around 25 million passengers annually, said on social media that it had seen a "return to normal" on Monday. "The normal, quick and efficient checkpoint operations we're known for have returned today," the airport said in an X post.We know the last few days have been difficult. The normal, quick and efficient checkpoint operations we're known for have returned today.Travelers are once again advised to arrive 2 hours ahead of scheduled departure. pic.twitter.com/QQlAwA8Izb— BWI Marshall Airport (@BWI_Airport) March 30, 2026 Lines began to improve after President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Friday to pay TSA agents, bringing many back to work. The workers hadn't been paid since mid-February, when a partial government shutdown began. Up to 11% of TSA agents called out of work on the worst-affected days.While the Senate approved a deal early Friday to fund most of the Department of Homeland Security, it was opposed by Republicans in the House of Representatives who want more funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Democrats want ICE to be reformed in the wake of January's violence in Minnesota. TSA agents began receiving paychecks on Monday, though the shutdown is still ongoing. Plus, Congress has gone on recess for two weeks, while the two parties remain at loggerheads.