How the Partial Government Shutdown Impacts Air Travel

Travelers may encounter delays at security checkpoints throughout the nation’s busy commercial airports, particularly if there are shortages of TSA workers.

Travelers go through TSA at the Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport in Baltimore on Feb. 18, 2026. Madalina Kilroy/The Epoch Times

Debates over the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement agenda have led to a partial government shutdown affecting agencies under the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) umbrella.

Among the agencies affected is the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), which went into shutdown on Feb. 14, creating uncertainty for air travelers.