Bianca Seward/Houston Public Media
Pictured is an empty security checkpoint line at Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston on March 30, 2026.
The wait times at security checkpoints at both Bush Intercontinental and Hobby airports in Houston have dropped dramatically as TSA workers are being paid again during a partial shutdown of the federal government.
After a week of record-breaking wait times – stretching more than four hours in some instances – and lines that looped across three floors, Bush Intercontinental reported wait time estimations of 10 minutes or less on Monday as well as Tuesday morning.
The improvement comes after President Donald Trump directed TSA agents to be paid during the ongoing government shutdown, with checks starting to go out Monday. Still, agents missed two paychecks during the shutdown, and it’s the third time in three months they’ve been required to work without pay.
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The Trump administration also dispatched U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers to airports in Houston and across the country early last week to help with the congestion. However, their role in diminishing the wait times wasn’t immediately unclear as the immigration agents did not perform TSA screening duties for much of last week. At the end of the week, the Department of Homeland Security announced it had given ICE agents basic TSA training and they could help checking IDs, logistics and crowd control.
Unlike TSA officers, ICE agents have been paid throughout the partial government shutdown that directly affects DHS funding as Democrats and Republicans argue about the direction of the agency and the immigration enforcement tactics of the Trump administration.
RELATED: ICE officers could remain at airports after TSA workers are paid
The shortened wait times brought relief in Houston, but not reassurance. Several travelers who spoke to Houston Public Media said they arrived hours ahead of their flights, wary of last week’s headlines.
Bianca Seward/Houston Public Media
Agents with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) walk through Bush Intercontinental Airport on March 30, 2026.
Nicole Cano and her husband were headed to Paris on Monday night. Cano says they tracked wait time estimations from home.
“My husband has both the apps open on his phone and he’s been monitoring it every day, multiple times,” Cano said.
Despite the drop in wait times, the couple says they didn’t want to risk it.
“I tried to tell him that we didn’t have to leave, what, eight hours before our flight,” Cano said. “But he said, ‘Nope,’ so I’m just following his lead now.”
Tiara Bruessard and her four children got stuck in an hourslong TSA line in Chicago while traveling to visit family in Houston. For the return trip, they arrived at the airport more than four hours early, hoping to avoid another ordeal. Broussard said the experience left her anxious about security lines.
When they reached Terminal A at Bush Intercontinental, she was relieved to find no line, but she said her airline, Frontier, wouldn’t allow her to check bags that far ahead of departure. Instead, she and her children ended up sitting against a wall, waiting, as the TSA checkpoint sat nearly empty.
“I am grateful that there’s no line,” Bruessard said. “It is a little bit frustrating, though, because there’s no seats [to wait].