Travelers at Houston’s Hobby Airport experienced relief as TSA lines moved swiftly amid the spring break rush, contrasting with last weekend’s lengthy waits tied to
HOUSTON — Travelers flying out of Houston’s Hobby Airport on Sunday prepared for what was expected to be one of the busiest return travel days of Spring Break.
Many arrived hours early after reports of massive security lines last weekend that stretched outside the terminal and left some passengers waiting four to five hours to get through TSA.
But Sunday morning looked very different.
Security lines moved steadily, with TSA wait times averaging less than 10 minutes throughout the morning.
Laura Gilbeau and her daughter, Samantha, were among those flying home Sunday to Sacramento after attending a convention in Houston. Gilbeau said the reports of long lines last weekend were on her mind throughout their trip.
“We got up way early just to be here to make sure we didn’t miss our flight,” Gilbeau said. “We’re here a good 2½ hours before our flight.”
Gilbeau said travelers at the convention had been talking about the delays all weekend and trying to figure out how early they should arrive.
“We thought about it when we left Sacramento on Thursday, we thought about it all weekend,” Gilbeau said. “All of us at the convention were talking about it — like how do we check to see when the gates start opening, like security starts working, and what were the lines like yesterday at this time — and worried Sunday would be worse because everybody is trying to get home for Monday morning.”
Despite those concerns, many passengers said they were surprised to find security moving quickly.
“I was like holy smokes,” Gilbeau said with a laugh. “We’re going to get something to eat.”
Ani Umanah, who was flying back to Dallas after attending a wedding in Houston, said she also arrived early just in case.
“I really want to go home to my kids today, so if the line is long, I’m hoping two hours will be enough to scale through,” Umanah said.
But once she arrived, the lines appeared normal.
“Yeah, I’m surprised it looks normal to me,” Umanah said. “That’s good. I’m glad it cleared out.”
Families traveling with children also said they were watching wait times closely.
“We heard the wait times went down, so we’re happy for that,” traveler Robert Gipson said.
Airport officials say the long lines last weekend were tied to staffing challenges during the ongoing partial federal government shutdown.
A TSA supervisor working as part of a national deployment team told KHOU 11 that about 60 officers were sent to Hobby last Tuesday to help with staffing. The officers are expected to remain at the airport through the end of the month or longer.
The supervisor said processing earlier and opening more lanes as well as increasing staffing helped keep lines moving Sunday morning.
Still, some travelers said they are concerned about TSA workers who are caught in the middle of the shutdown and could miss another paycheck in the coming weeks.
“When it could be prevented by just giving these folks their wage, it seems ridiculous that our government, people we elect, can do that to our own people and risk the country’s safety,” Gilbeau said.
“I think they should pay them because nobody wants to work for free,” Umanah added. “These people have families to feed. Times are tough.”
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