DFW, Love Field TSA workers deployed to Houston to ease critical staffing shortages

The deployment of North Texas-based TSA officers to struggling airports comes as workers near their third missed paycheck.

DALLAS — While travelers at North Texas airports are seeing relatively smooth security lines, a very different picture is unfolding across the country.

A prolonged government shutdown is stretching Transportation Security Administration staffing thin, forcing some TSA officers from Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport and Dallas Love Field to deploy to busier hubs struggling with long lines and staffing shortages.

Johnny Jones, president of the American Federation of Government Employees Local (AFGE) 1040, which represents TSA officers in North Texas, said more than a dozen officers from DFW have been sent to Houston’s George Bush Intercontinental Airport to help cover gaps driven by high call-out rates.

“This is unprecedented,” Jones said.

Union leaders warn that the situation is worsening as TSA officers near their third missed paycheck during the shutdown this Friday. Some are calling out sick, while others are leaving the job altogether.

“TSA officers have done their oath, they’ve served their country well,” Jones said. “They’ve continued to come to work during this shutdown.”

Jones said conditions at DFW have remained more stable than at other airports due to differences in management and stricter policies around employee call-outs. He’s calling on the federal government to provide $10,000 bonuses on top of back pay to help them recover from their third government shutdown this fiscal year.

Still, the broader strain is building as lawmakers remain deadlocked over funding for the Department of Homeland Security.

During a House hearing on Wednesday, TSA Deputy Administrator Ha Nguyen McNeill warned of growing risks, especially with a major international event on the horizon.

“This is a dire situation,” McNeill said. “We are facing a potential perfect storm of severe staffing shortages and an influx of millions of passengers at our airports for the World Cup games in less than 80 days.”

Officials say newly hired officers will not be trained in time to assist with the surge of travelers expected for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, raising concerns about airport readiness.

McNeill said TSA has already lost 480 officers during this shutdown.

“As the shutdown drags on, we fear we will continue to lose talented employees,” McNeill said. 

Travelers are already feeling uneasy.

“Apprehensive, I think, is the word,” said Jonathan Dominique, who traveled through DFW Airport back to the UK on Wednesday. He worried about missing a connecting flight. “I do hope TSA gets a deal, because this is not good for a country — a first-world country — at all, really.”

Even where operations remain steady, TSA officers say the personal toll is mounting.

“We’re still having to make decisions,” Jones said. “We didn’t take any vacation for spring break. The kids didn’t go anywhere. We have been done wrong.”

Jones said his wife’s income has been their lifeline. Other TSA workers, however, are taking out loans, missing rent payments and at risk of eviction, Jones said.

As the shutdown continues with no clear resolution, pressure is mounting in Washington — with potential impacts reaching far beyond airport security lines.