Over 300 TSA agents have quit during the shutdown, and travelers could feel it for a while

TSA agents are leaving their jobs. Aaron Schwartz / AFP via Getty Images 2026-03-17T14:51:32.748Z 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 Loading audio narration... This story is available exclusively to Business Insider subscribers. Become an Insider and start reading now. Have an account? Log in. TSA is facing an employee exodus as the partial government shutdown leaves workers with $0 paychecks. Staffing shortages have led to long TSA wait lines at several airports across the US. Airline CEOs urged Congress to protect TSA officers affected by the shutdown.

Transportation Security Administration officers are quitting during the government shutdown — worsening travel delays that may outlast it. "More than 300 TSA officers have quit since the DHS shutdown began, and callouts are approximately double the normal rate," the Department of Homeland Security told Business Insider in a statement on Tuesday.The TSA posted on X about the exits on Saturday as workers received their first $0 paycheck of this shutdown. Airport security lines have stretched for hours at some US airports as the partial government shutdown leaves the DHS and its TSA agents working without pay. Various airports were advising travelers to arrive up to three hours early as of Monday."Enough is enough," the TSA's X post said, citing three-hour wait times. Every time Jordan publishes a story, you'll get an alert straight to your inbox! Stay connected to Jordan and get more of their work as it publishes. Sign up By clicking "Sign up", you agree to receive emails from Business Insider. In addition, you accept Insider's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. The exodus could make travel issues stretch beyond the government shutdown, particularly if more agents quit, Jake Rosenfeld, a professor of sociology at Washington University in St. Louis, said.If TSA agents continue to leave their posts, call in sick, or take on second jobs, delays could worsen, leading to missed flights or travelers canceling their trips altogether, Rosenfeld said. So far, Rosenfeld said, the more than 300 agents who've quit represent less than 1% of the roughly 50,000 agents working in the US. And the high demand for TSA jobs would make it easier for the government to fill vacant roles once the shutdown ends than it was after past shutdowns, he said.However, new hires would need to complete a lengthy training process, which could create ongoing travel issues after the shutdown. Everett Kelley, national president of the American Federation of Government Employees, told Business Insider that it's "no surprise" that agents are quitting by the hundreds."As the financial pressure grows, more workers will be forced into impossible choices," Kelley said. "The lines will get longer. The delays will get worse." When the department's funding expired in February, Congress failed to pass a new bill, leading to the agency's partial shutdown. The TSA's X post condemned "playing politics" with American lives and called for the end of the DHS shutdown.Kelley pointed to the last government shutdown, which began in October 2025 and lasted 43 days, during which workers — including TSA agents — went 3.5 pay periods without a paycheck. "Some were evicted. Some had their cars repossessed," Kelley said. "Now, politicians are putting them through it again, and the long lines travelers are starting to see are a direct result."Wait times caused by a prolonged shortage of agents could also lead travelers to cancel or postpone their trips if they're traveling short distances, Henry Harteveldt, a travel analyst and the president of Atmosphere Research Group, said. It would be bad news for airlines having to deal with cancellations. In the past, TSA PreCheck has been disrupted at some airports to allocate more agents to the main security checkpoints. There's a possibility it could happen again, even if it's not a wise decision according to Harteveldt.The CEOs of America's biggest airlines have chimed in on the shutdown, calling the $0 paychecks "simply unacceptable" in an open letter on Sunday. They urged Congress to pass legislation to ensure that TSA officers, customs officers, and air traffic controllers are paid during future government shutdowns. "The officers who haven't left for more reliable employment will carry the burden of a system that treats them as expendable," Kelley said.