LOS ANGELES (KABC) — TSA PreCheck briefly shut down Sunday morning at Los Angeles International Airport, creating long lines and confusion for travelers already facing widespread flight cancellations from a major winter storm affecting the East Coast.
The screening program was initially closed, directing all passengers into a single security line before reopening shortly afterward.
TSA issued a statement saying PreCheck “remains operational with no change for the traveling public,” following earlier reports that the Department of Homeland Security had temporarily suspended TSA PreCheck and Global Entry programs.
The short-lived closure at LAX led to delays and frustration for some passengers.
“This doesn’t make any sense. It seems very disruptive to people for people trying to get about their day and it’s very challenging for people just trying to get to where they need to go,” traveler Claudia Wong said.
Another traveler, Debbie Paden, said she wasn’t taking chances.
“We always come to the airport early, even if it’s a shutdown, just because it gets busy … but they really work hard in trying to get everybody through so we just came normal time,” she said.
The airport issues coincided with severe weather on the East Coast, where more than 6,400 flights were canceled ahead of a massive winter storm.
Blizzard conditions and heavy snow have already led to more than half of all flights being canceled at New York’s JFK and LaGuardia airports.
At LAX, 82 cancellations and 101 delays were reported Sunday morning, according to the flighttracking website FlightAware.
Despite the rocky start, TSA PreCheck resumed normal operations.
Copyright © 2026 KABC Television, LLC. All rights reserved.