{"id":215978,"date":"2026-03-23T00:47:41","date_gmt":"2026-03-23T00:47:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/215978\/"},"modified":"2026-03-23T00:47:41","modified_gmt":"2026-03-23T00:47:41","slug":"houston-airports-see-highest-tsa-callout-rates-in-the-nation-straining-security-lines-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/215978\/","title":{"rendered":"Houston airports see highest TSA callout rates in the nation, straining security lines"},"content":{"rendered":"

Travelers at Houston airports are facing significant delays as staffing shortages among TSA officers persist <\/a>amid the ongoing Department of Homeland Security shutdown, federal officials said.<\/p>\n

New data released by the Department of Homeland Security shows absenteeism among Transportation Security Administration officers has surged nationwide, with callout rates topping 11.5% on Friday, March 21 \u2014 the highest recorded during the shutdown.<\/p>\n

In Houston, the numbers were even more severe.<\/p>\n

At George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH), 42.4% of TSA officers reportedly called out, while at William P. Hobby Airport (HOU), that figure climbed to 47.4%, among the highest rates in the country.<\/p>\n

Federal officials say the staffing shortages are contributing to long security lines and extended wait times for travelers, particularly during the busy spring break travel period.<\/p>\n

According to DHS, TSA officers have now gone without pay for the third time in six months, creating financial strain that is impacting attendance.<\/p>\n

\u201cMany TSA officers cannot pay their rent, buy food, or afford to put gas in their cars \u2014 forcing them to call out sick from work,\u201d the agency said in a statement.<\/p>\n

Over the past week, TSA callout rates have remained above 9% nationwide, with more than half of those days exceeding 10%, officials said.<\/p>\n

Significant major airport TSA callouts for March 21:<\/p>\n

What travelers should know at Houston airports<\/p>\n

Airport officials say operational changes are also in place that could further impact wait times:<\/p>\n

At George Bush Intercontinental Airport:<\/p>\n

TSA PreCheck is only available in Terminals A and C<\/p>\n

Standard TSA screening is limited to Terminals A and E<\/p>\n

The TSA checkpoint in Terminal D is closed<\/p>\n

The Subway system remains available pre-security to connect all terminals<\/p>\n

At William P. Hobby Airport:<\/p>\n

TSA is operating reduced screening lanes, which may increase wait times<\/p>\n

Check Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH) TSA wait times<\/a>\u00a0here.<\/p>\n

Check Hobby Airport (HOU) TSA wait times<\/a> here.<\/p>\n

Federal response<\/p>\n

In response, the Trump administration says it is taking steps to address the issue.<\/p>\n

Acting Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis said Donald Trump is directing additional resources to airports experiencing the most disruption.<\/p>\n

\u201cPresident Trump is using every tool available to help American travelers who are facing hours-long lines at airports across the country,\u201d Bis said. \u201cThis shutdown has caused more than 400 TSA officers to quit and thousands to call out from work.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bis added that hundreds of ICE officers are being deployed to assist at impacted airports in an effort to ease delays and maintain security operations.<\/p>\n

The DHS statement places blame for the shutdown on Democrats, calling it \u201cpointless\u201d and warning it could impact the safety and reliability of air travel.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, travelers in Houston and across the country are being urged to arrive early and prepare for delays as the situation continues.<\/p>\n

Got a news tip or story idea? Email us at\u00a0newstips@khou.com<\/a>\u00a0or call 713-521-4310 and include your name and the best way to reach you.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Travelers at Houston airports are facing significant delays as staffing shortages among TSA officers persist amid the ongoing…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":215979,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[4092,55751,6832,56,20533,58,57,21076,4093,4024,22096,21075],"class_list":["post-215978","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-houston","tag-department-of-homeland-security","tag-federal-officials","tag-george-bush-intercontinental-airport","tag-houston","tag-houston-airports","tag-houston-headlines","tag-houston-news","tag-staffing-shortages","tag-transportation-security-administration","tag-tsa","tag-tsa-precheck","tag-william-p-hobby-airport"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/215978","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=215978"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/215978\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/215979"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=215978"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=215978"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=215978"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}