PARTIAL GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN IMPACTS TSA OPERATIONS
March 4, 2026
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On February 14, 2026, the United States government went into a partial shutdown, affecting the U.S. Department of Homeland Security which includes federal agencies such as CBP and TSA. Approximately 95 percent of TSA personnel are designated as “essential” workers and will continue working without pay during the shutdown. With that said, extended government shutdowns have historically resulted in high rates of government personnel calling out sick or not showing up to work, as seen during the most recent government shutdown in late 2025. At that time, the FAA was forced to instruct U.S. air carriers to reduce domestic flights due to significant air traffic controller staffing shortages. While this shutdown does not directly impact air traffic controllers, there will be adverse impacts on TSA personnel, raising the potential for significant delays at U.S. airport security checkpoints and other travel disruptions.
Due to the funding lapse, DHS initially announced that two programs (TSA PreCheck and Global Entry) would be suspended. Given that both programs permit millions of air travelers to expedite airport security screening, there was swift pushback from the aviation industry, including Airlines for America, such that DHS reversed course and clarified on February 22, 2026, that TSA PreCheck will remain operational, yet Global Entry will be suspended for the time being. If not resolved quickly, the suspension of Global Entry will require enrolled travelers to use standard security screening and thus TSA security wait times are expected to increase at most U.S. airports.
This Aviation Blog Post is intended to keep readers current on developments in the law. It is not intended to be legal advice. If you have any questions, please contact Evelyn Sahr at 202.659.6622 or esahr@eckertseamans.com; Drew Derco at 202.659.6665 or dderco@eckertseamans.com; Tyler Myers at 202.659.6642 or trmyers@eckertseamans.com, or any other attorney at Eckert Seamans with whom you have been working.
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