ORANGE COUNTY LIVE IN ORLANDO, KENNEDY MASON, WESH TWO NEWS. ICE AGENTS WILL START BACKING UP TSA AGENTS TODAY TO HELP SPEED UP AIRPORT SECURITY LINES THAT HAVE GROWN DRAMATICALLY BECAUSE OF THE PARTIAL GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN. NOW, A GROWING NUMBER OF TSA OFFICERS ARE CALLING OUT OR QUITTING AS THEY GO WITHOUT A PAYCHECK. THE PRESIDENT’S ORDERS ARE. TOM HOMAN SAYS ICE AGENTS TAKE ON TASKS LIKE SECURING EXITS AND ALSO CHECKING IDS. TRANSPORTATION SECRETARY SEAN DUFFY SAYS ICE AGENTS ARE LAW ENFORCEMENT. THEY KNOW HOW TO PAT PEOPLE DOWN, HOW TO RUN THE X-RAY MACHINES. AND BECAUSE THEY ARE UNDER HOMELAND SECURITY WITH TSA. IN A STATEMENT TO WESH TWO NEWS, THE GREATER ORLANDO AVIATION AUTHORITY SAYS IT IS IN REGULAR COMMUNICATION WITH ITS FEDERAL PARTNERS AT THE DHS AT THIS TIME, ORLANDO INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT HAS NOT BEEN NOTIFIED THAT IT WIL
Despite spring break travel, TSA wait times at Orlando’s MCO are near normal
Updated: 10:30 AM EDT Mar 26, 2026
Orlando is one of the top spring break travel destinations, moving thousands of people through Orlando International Airport (MCO).Despite the surge in travelers and TSA staffing shortages, security wait times have remained near normal. >> Video above: ICE agents to assist TSA at airports, including one in Florida >> Find MCO TSA wait times, parking On Thursday morning, TSA wait times at MCO were between 4 and 15 minutes. Flight delays, cancellationsSecurity lines at MCO have not been the issue for travelers. Severe weather last week caused a ground stop and delays at the airport. Canceled flights left travelers stranded. Then a fatal crash at New York’s LaGuardia Airport led to more canceled flights out of Orlando. Airports across USThe Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is warning that some airports may have to close temporarily due to staffing shortages caused by the partial government shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security.On Friday, TSA agents will miss their second full paycheck, and with many not showing up for work, TSA officials are stressing that some airports may need to close temporarily.Orlando is not expected to be one of them. Ha Nguyen McNeill, Deputy Administrator of the TSA, said, “We are being forced to consolidate lanes and may have to close smaller airports if we do not have enough officers. It’s a fluid, challenging and unpredictable situation.”McNeill said multiple airports are experiencing callout rates higher than 40%, and air travelers are facing the TSA’s highest wait times ever. She noted more than 480 TSA employees have quit during the shutdown.At the beginning of the week, the Trump administration deployed ICE and other federal agents to some airports to try to remedy the situation, but their specific roles are not exactly clear.In Florida, ICE agents were expected at the airport in Fort Myers.
ORLANDO, Fla. —
Orlando is one of the top spring break travel destinations, moving thousands of people through Orlando International Airport (MCO).
Despite the surge in travelers and TSA staffing shortages, security wait times have remained near normal.
>> Video above: ICE agents to assist TSA at airports, including one in Florida
>> Find MCO TSA wait times, parking
On Thursday morning, TSA wait times at MCO were between 4 and 15 minutes.
Flight delays, cancellations
Security lines at MCO have not been the issue for travelers.
Severe weather last week caused a ground stop and delays at the airport. Canceled flights left travelers stranded.
Then a fatal crash at New York’s LaGuardia Airport led to more canceled flights out of Orlando.
Airports across US
The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is warning that some airports may have to close temporarily due to staffing shortages caused by the partial government shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security.
On Friday, TSA agents will miss their second full paycheck, and with many not showing up for work, TSA officials are stressing that some airports may need to close temporarily.
Orlando is not expected to be one of them.
Ha Nguyen McNeill, Deputy Administrator of the TSA, said, “We are being forced to consolidate lanes and may have to close smaller airports if we do not have enough officers. It’s a fluid, challenging and unpredictable situation.”
McNeill said multiple airports are experiencing callout rates higher than 40%, and air travelers are facing the TSA’s highest wait times ever. She noted more than 480 TSA employees have quit during the shutdown.
At the beginning of the week, the Trump administration deployed ICE and other federal agents to some airports to try to remedy the situation, but their specific roles are not exactly clear.
In Florida, ICE agents were expected at the airport in Fort Myers.