TSA Officers Are Getting Paid Again, but Many Airports Remain Short-Staffed
Most received two full retroactive paychecks Monday, DHS says; security officers had gone more than five weeks without pay
- Most TSA officers received two full retroactive paychecks after President Trump directed them to be paid via an executive order.
- Absences among TSA officers overall reached a peak of 12.4% on Friday, and have caused hourslong waits at airports like Houston and Atlanta.
- More than 500 TSA officers have left the agency due to working without pay, and Congress hasn't reached an agreement to fund the Department of Homeland Security.
Transportation Security Administration officers are getting paid again.
After more than five weeks of working without pay due to a funding impasse, most TSA employees received two, full retroactive paychecks on Monday, according to union officials and a Department of Homeland Security spokeswoman. The spokeswoman said the department is working to complete processing for the remaining half-paycheck owed.
Payments resumed Monday after President Trump late last week directed federal officials to pay TSA workers through an executive order. Over the past month, travelers have endured hourslong waits at airports in Houston, Atlanta, New York and elsewhere as TSA officers called out from work. Union officials have said many are working side jobs to cover bills.
Wait times at TSA checkpoints eased in some major airports around the country on Monday, according to TSA data, though estimated times for some security lines, including at Houston airports, continued to stretch past an hour throughout the day.
Absences continued at airports through the weekend, according to DHS. Nearly 10.6% of TSA officers called out on Sunday, down from a peak of about 12.4% on Friday.
Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport was Sunday’s most affected airport, where more than 38% of officers called out, DHS said. More than a third of officers called out at airports in Houston, New Orleans and Atlanta.
Trump’s executive order covers back pay for the officers—paychecks missed since funding for DHS lapsed on Feb. 14. The order directed administration officials to use federal funds relating to TSA operations in order to pay security officers. Congress still hasn’t reached a deal to fund the department and is on its two-week recess.
“To say we are utterly disgusted and disappointed with our elected officials is an understatement,” said Hydrick Thomas, president of the union that represents TSA officers. “Congress must come back to Washington, fix this crisis, and stop putting politics over people and vacation over values.”
TSA officers’ call-out rates at some airports have hit 40% to 50% while DHS has been shut down, according to Airlines for America, a trade association for major U.S. carriers. Assaults on TSA officers have increased sixfold in that time, the group said.
TSA staffing challenges could linger. Working without pay during the shutdown has prompted more than 500 officers to leave the agency, the DHS spokeswoman said.
Union officials said Monday that it wasn’t clear whether the executive order covered future pay periods, should the funding impasse continue.
DHS and the Office of Management and Budget didn’t immediately comment on how future pay periods would be covered.