Security staffing sits at the center of this dementia and brain health question.

The partial government shutdown that began February 14, 2026, has created an unprecedented crisis at airport security checkpoints across the country. With 50,000 TSA officers working without pay and over 300 officers already resigning due to financial strain, major airports are experiencing wait times that frequently exceed two hours.

For people with dementia and their caregivers—who may already find air travel challenging—these new bottlenecks have made an already stressful process considerably more difficult. On a single peak day, 188 flights were cancelled and 4,000 delayed across major hubs like New York’s JFK, Los Angeles LAX, Chicago O’Hare, and Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson, disrupting travel for hundreds of thousands of passengers. This article explains what’s happening at airport security, how different airports are affected, and what caregivers can do to navigate these unpredictable conditions.

Why Is TSA Staffing at Crisis Levels Right Now?
How Long Are Security Lines Now, and Which Airports Are Worst?
What Do These Delays Mean for Travel Volume During Spring 2026?
How Should Caregivers Plan Air Travel During This Period?
What About Connecting Flights and Unpredictable Delays?
What Airports Have Avoided the Worst Delays?
When Will This Situation Improve?
Conclusion

Why Is TSA Staffing at Crisis Levels Right Now?

The staffing crisis stems directly from the government shutdown that left 50,000 TSA officers without paychecks for weeks. Without income, officers face the same financial pressures as any other worker—they still have mortgages, rent, childcare, and medical bills due. The financial strain has forced TSA officers to make a devastating choice: stay in a job that isn’t paying them, or resign and find work elsewhere. According to reporting from CNN and NPR, over 300 TSA officers have already permanently quit. Some of these resignations came from critical positions at major airport hubs, creating cascading delays throughout the entire system.

The call-out rates tell the story of an overwhelmed workforce. On Thursday, 9.81% of TSA officers called out sick or failed to report to work—a sign of both genuine illness and the desperation of unpaid workers. Earlier that week, the call-out rate had reached 10.22%, the highest recorded level. For context, TSA staffing typically operates with much tighter margins. When nearly one in ten officers don’t show up, the remaining staff cannot process passengers at normal speed, and wait times balloon rapidly.

Why Is TSA Staffing at Crisis Levels Right Now?

How Long Are Security Lines Now, and Which Airports Are Worst?

Wait times at major airports now routinely exceed what passengers consider normal. Houston’s William P. Hobby Airport and Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport reported wait times surpassing 100 minutes on peak travel days. Some travelers at other major hubs waited longer than two hours just to pass through security. The New Orleans Louis Armstrong International Airport became so overwhelmed that officials advised passengers to arrive three hours before their scheduled departure—an unprecedented recommendation that reflects the genuine unpredictability of the current situation.

However, the crisis is not uniform across all airports. Regional variation in TSA staffing has created a patchwork of conditions. Houston experienced call-out rates above 50%, while Atlanta and New Orleans experienced approximately 30% call-outs. Philadelphia’s situation was so dire that the airport closed three security checkpoints entirely, concentrating remaining passengers into fewer lanes. If you’re planning travel and your destination depends on one of these severely affected airports, you’re facing higher risk of delays or missed flights. Conversely, airports with less severe staffing losses are maintaining closer to normal operations, though still with noticeable delays.

What Do These Delays Mean for Travel Volume During Spring 2026?

The timing of this crisis couldn’t be worse. According to TSA projections, March and April 2026 will see record travel volume: 2.8 million passengers per day, with a total of 171 million passengers across both months. This spring travel surge includes families visiting elderly relatives, spring break travelers, Easter holiday visitors, and people escaping winter weather. It’s the busiest travel season of the year—and it’s colliding head-on with a security system that’s already struggling.

On a single day in March, the combination of high travel volume and low TSA staffing produced tangible chaos: 188 flights cancelled and 4,000 flights delayed across the four busiest airport hubs. These aren’t minor 15-minute delays; many delays exceeded two hours, causing passengers to miss connections, fail to arrive at time-sensitive appointments, or abandon travel plans entirely. For dementia patients or seniors traveling for memory care consultations, medical appointments, or family transitions, these delays can trigger confusion, anxiety, and medical complications. If your parent or loved one is on medication that requires precise timing, a four-hour delay could mean missing doses.

What Do These Delays Mean for Travel Volume During Spring 2026?

How Should Caregivers Plan Air Travel During This Period?

The most practical strategy is to build in substantial buffer time and choose less-congested travel windows. Instead of arriving 90 minutes before a domestic flight (the old standard), plan to arrive three hours early—matching the advisory issued by New Orleans airport. This gives you time to navigate longer security lines without rushing, which is especially important if your traveling companion has cognitive decline and moves more slowly. Avoid peak travel times: Tuesday through Thursday afternoons tend to be less crowded than Friday mornings, weekends, or the days immediately before and after major holidays. Consider your specific airport carefully. If you have a choice between two nearby airports, check their call-out rates and staffing status.

Some airports in your region may be significantly less affected than others. Additionally, research whether your departure or arrival airport has private security screening options, which are unaffected by TSA staffing shortages. San Francisco International Airport and Kansas City International Airport, among approximately 20 U.S. airports nationwide, use private screeners instead of TSA officers. Traveling through these airports eliminates exposure to the current staffing crisis entirely. This is a concrete advantage worth planning around if you’re traveling from a region that has such options.

What About Connecting Flights and Unpredictable Delays?

One major warning: TSA delays create a domino effect throughout the flight system. If you miss your security window due to a long line, you’ll miss your flight. If your inbound flight arrives late due to previous delays, you might miss your connecting flight, even if the connection seems reasonable on paper. For this reason, travel advisors and the TSA itself now recommend avoiding tight connections during this period. If you’re flying from an airport with known staffing challenges, avoid scheduling connections with less than two hours between flights.

The old one-hour connection standard (or even 90-minute standard) is too risky. For passengers with dementia, unpredictable delays pose an additional challenge. If your loved one becomes anxious or disoriented during unexpected waits, a four-hour airport delay transforms into a behavioral crisis. Having medication, familiar comfort items, and realistic expectations about timing becomes crucial. Airlines may be able to accommodate passengers with documented cognitive disabilities, but you’ll need to arrange this well in advance by contacting the airline directly and requesting gate-to-gate assistance.

What About Connecting Flights and Unpredictable Delays?

What Airports Have Avoided the Worst Delays?

Approximately 20 U.S. airports have opted to use private security screening companies instead of relying on TSA officers. These airports have been largely insulated from the shutdown-related staffing crisis because their security personnel are employed by private contractors, not the federal government. San Francisco International Airport and Kansas City International Airport are among the largest airports using this system, and both have maintained relatively normal security wait times (typically 15-30 minutes) throughout the shutdown.

If you live in or near a region served by private-security airports, this is a significant advantage. Denver International, for example, uses private screening for some lanes, which has helped it avoid the worst bottlenecks seen in Houston and Atlanta. Before booking flights, check whether your local airport uses TSA or private security. This single factor can reduce your wait time from two hours to 20 minutes—a dramatic difference for anyone traveling with a dementia patient.

When Will This Situation Improve?

The timeline for improvement depends entirely on the government shutdown’s resolution. As of the latest reporting, the shutdown has already lasted over a month, and TSA officers continue working without paychecks. When government funding resumes and back pay is distributed, some officers may return to their positions, but the 300+ officers who have already resigned are unlikely to come back immediately.

Even after the shutdown ends, TSA will face a hiring and retraining challenge that could take weeks or months to resolve. In the near term (March and April 2026), travelers should expect continued delays, elevated call-out rates, and unpredictable wait times at major airports. Looking forward, this crisis may accelerate interest in alternative security systems, including private screening at more airports and potential technological solutions (like automated screening). For now, caregivers planning spring travel with dementia patients should assume current conditions will persist and plan accordingly—with extra buffer time, alternative airports if available, and realistic expectations about delays.

Conclusion

Security staffing changes driven by the government shutdown have created genuine bottlenecks at airports nationwide, with some facilities reporting wait times exceeding two hours and call-out rates approaching 10%. For caregivers traveling with dementia patients, these conditions require careful planning: arriving three hours early, avoiding tight connections, choosing less-congested travel times and airports, and considering private-security alternatives if available. The situation will likely persist through at least April 2026, making it essential to build realistic timelines into any spring travel plans.

If you’re considering air travel during this period, start by checking current TSA wait times at your specific airport (TSA.gov provides real-time data) and considering whether your trip timing is flexible. For medically necessary travel, contact your airline in advance to arrange disability assistance and request any accommodations your traveling companion may need. This advance planning won’t eliminate delays entirely, but it can help you navigate them with less stress and fewer surprises.