Long security lines at airports nationwide continued on Friday, with travelers facing significant delays as Congress struggles to properly fund the Department of Homeland Security.
At LaGuardia Airport in Queens, the TSA checkpoints were surrounded by a tangle of lines, causing exhausted passengers to arrive several hours ahead of the recommended three-hour window for busy domestic flights.
“It’s much better to be at the gate hours early than to chance it, arrive just three hours before, and find yourself caught up in TSA lines that make you miss your flight,” said Rachel Sweet, who was heading back to Memphis after a business trip to New York.
Sweet and her colleague, Tierra Bakker, arrived at 9:50 a.m. for a flight scheduled to leave at 2 p.m.
“It’s just wild. Nobody wants to be late because of the lines and miss their flight,” Bakker added.
Jade Primicias reached LaGuardia at 10 a.m. for a 2:20 p.m. flight to Denver. Her dance company is about to kick off a North American tour, so her boss advised her to get there early to avoid any potential issues.
“I thought it was a bit much to show up so early, especially given reports of wait times being up to four hours. But really, it’s better to err on the side of caution,” the 32-year-old shared.
A woman named Melissa, who lives in Manhattan, mentioned her experience flying to Spain from Kennedy Airport the previous day. “My flight arrived 4.5 hours earlier than normal,” she said, noting that it was up to two hours earlier than usual.
When asked if she had a message for the government, she replied, “Well, I can’t really say that. They might come for me.”
Travelers are contending with exceptionally long lines across the country, as political disputes over immigration reform have led to funding denials for specific DHS agencies.
This ongoing deadlock has resulted in TSA agents facing paycheck issues, causing some to fall ill or resign, which only exacerbates the travel challenges.
