Travelers pass through the Terminal B security checkpoint at Sacramento International Airport on July 8, 2025.
Ethan Wolin
ewolin@sacbee.com
Spring break travelers should plan to arrive earlier than usual to the Sacramento International Airport, officials said, due to the peak travel period coinciding with the partial government shutdown.
Absences for Transportation Security Administration workers are being noted at airports across the country as the shutdown, which has cut off pay to the employees, reached its 25th day Tuesday. Sacramento is no exception.
TSA employees have been calling off work more than usual within the past week at Sacramento’s airport, said James Mudrock, a TSA worker of about 21 years. Mudrock is also the Northern California Vice President for the American Federation of Government Employees Local 1260, which represents transportation security officers in California, Nevada and Arizona.
Mudrock would not discuss absence numbers, saying he did not want people with a “negative interest” to know specifics. He said that TSA workers are under a higher level of stress due to heightened security concerns over President Donald Trump’s war in Iran, on top of working through the peak spring break travel period.
Travelers should arrive at Sacramento International Airport three hours before their flights — one hour more than is usually recommended — due to the possible ongoing absences and the heightened amount of travel that occurs between March 5 and 15, airport spokesperson Scott Johnston said. Anyone with planned flights is also encouraged to check with their airline and look at the MyTSA app, which can provide general information such as standard security line wait times and if pre-check is available.
Mudrock, who is based in Sacramento, said he has seen some longer wait times but nothing in comparison to larger spots, such as Houston and New Orleans, where travelers had to wait hours in security lines.
“We’re still in the early stages of the shutdown, relatively,” he said. “But the longer this goes on, I can’t imagine it’s going to get any better.”
TSA officers have been operating without pay since mid-February, when funding for the Department of Homeland Security lapsed after Congress couldn’t reach an agreement regarding immigration enforcement reforms. The debate continues along partisan lines with no end in sight.
TSA employees received a partial paycheck on Feb. 28 for work completed leading up to the partial shutdown. They will miss their first full paycheck on Saturday.
“That (Feb. 28) paycheck came on time,” Mudrock said. “But they have no idea when the next when they’re going to see their next one.”
Mudrock said TSA employees nationwide are struggling due to the loss of wages, with some not being able to afford gas to drive to work or purchase groceries for their families.
This shutdown, the third to take place within half a year, is different in that workers do not have indictions of when it may end, Mudrock said. The first shutdown took place in October 2025 and lasted 43 days — the longest in U.S. history. A partial shutdown occurred for four days in early February.
“In previous ones, we had some idea of how negotiations were going (…) There was some light at the end of the tunnel, even if it seemed far away at times,” he said. “Right now, our people have no idea how long this is going to last.”
As of Tuesday, workers are just trying to do their jobs one passenger and one piece of luggage at a time, Mudrock said.
Mudrock encouraged travelers to show up earlier, expect longer wait times and be patient with TSA workers.
The local TSA office did not immediately respond to a request to comment.
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Madison Smalstig covers transportation for The Sacramento Bee. Before joining The Bee, she reported on breaking news, focusing on crime and public safety, in the North Bay for three years. Smalstig is a born and raised Hoosier and earned degrees in journalism and Spanish at Indiana University.