Cranky on the Web: TSA Chaos

Mar 28, 2026

More Reading on This Topic: Cranky on the Web, Government Regulation, Safety/Security

Trump says he’ll sign order to pay TSA agents as travel chaos continues – NPR Morning Edition

The question of what travelers can do to be made whole for their expenses due to missed flights thanks to outrageous TSA lines continues to be asked. And the reality is… not much. The airlines aren’t going to pay, and nor should they. The feds should be on the hook, but as I lamented to Morning Edition, they can’t even figure out how to pay their employees.

Dayton airport security wait times still less than 5 minutes; CVG around 30 minutes – Dayton Daily News

Everyone in the country is freaking out about long security lines, but of course, not every airports is impacted. In fact, the vast majority of airports aren’t.

Brett

21 responses to “Cranky on the Web: TSA Chaos”

Tom Gold

Mar 28, 2026 at 5:47 am

Just flew out of CVG this morning going through security at 6AM. It’s often crowded then but usually Clear solves that. This time however the line for CLEAR apparently stretched all the way to check in. Although with the massive confusion I think Pre and Clear were likely mixed. I ended up going through touchless Pre with no wait at all and was able to then hang out in the tiniest lounge I have ever been in (Escape-moving to larger quarters in a few days they said.) I hope they give these folks back pay and a bonus for this outrageous governmental dysfunction!

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ejwpj

Mar 28, 2026 at 6:49 am

How much of this discussion about the TSA delays is “fake news”? I’ve been checking CNN’s website (https://edition.cnn.com/us/airport-tsa-wait-time-live-updates-vis) and apart from IAH and sometimes ATL the picture presented there is a lot different to the headlines that we are constantly reading. On Tuesday (25th) I transited DFW. It took 8 minutes to get thru the “pre-check” line – not that DFW ever figured in the bad group! Checking with some of traveling friends, it would appear that the reporting of this is highly inaccurate.
I wouldn’t diminish the impact on the poor souls working without pay – it is a national disgrace, but I question the accuracy of the reporting.

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1. ejwpj
  
  Mar 28, 2026 at 7:10 am
  
  I see this morning that the NYT has picked up on the “inaccurate” reporting, along with a discussion on those airports staffed by contractors who are paid by the companies that employ them. Some readers comments are interesting also (https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/26/travel/tsa-airports-shutdown-security-sfo-mci.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share)
  
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2. Brad
  
  Mar 28, 2026 at 7:13 am
  
  ejwpj – it is not “fake news” in that sense, it was real and was happening at IAH and ATL as the they showed us, over and over again.
  
  The news is setup to catch your attention. Reporting that there is no problem won’t do that, which is why the news is often described as: “if it bleeds, it leads” There is no news value in the millions of cars that drive every day without a problem, so the very few that crash become the news.
  
  Same for airport security, we’ve had local reports at DEN with reporters standing by TSA lines that take 5-10 minutes to navigate telling us all is normal (at this spot, at this time), but that doesn’t sell national commercials so the main news reported is the problem, repeated over and over again. Not fake but also not a good representation of everything going on.
  
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3. Brett
  
  Mar 28, 2026 at 7:50 am
  
  ejwpj – It’s not fake news, just exaggerated severity. And that’s not a surprise. But it is very real, and it’s only going to get worse unless they start paying these people.
  
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4. Bill from DC
  
  Mar 28, 2026 at 10:08 am
  
  Of course results may vary but there is more than enough anecdotal evidence to determine this is a massive federal government failing. Mine is a 1.5 hour wait in the clear line at MSY last Sunday.
  
  It’s way past time to expect and demand basic levels of competence from government and hold our elected officials responsible.
  
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W Scott Moyer

Mar 28, 2026 at 8:21 am

Thank you Pres Trump for paying these people. Trying to work with Chuck Schumer is a losing game.

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1. Brett
  
  Mar 28, 2026 at 8:56 am
  
  W Scott – You’re looking in the wrong place. The Senate passed a bill that would fund this, but the House wouldn’t even vote on it. If you want to throw stones — which I would add, doesn’t solve anything — then you can look at Speaker Johnson.
  
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  1. W Scott Moyer
    
    Mar 28, 2026 at 11:27 am
    
    OK Brett, good point. My main point is that the President gets things done even if the Dems and GOP in Congress can’t. Mostly the problem was Schumer, now as you say it’s Johnson.
    
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    1. Glian Jones
      
      Mar 29, 2026 at 9:07 am
      
      Gets things done? Are you serious? A week ago, there was a plan to fund TSA via the Senate and Trump killed that plan because he obstinately refuses to entertain the perception that he compromised with the Dems. He’s been the real blocker all along in this whole fiasco, letting his little lapdog Johnson run interference.
      
      “Real” leaders take the long view, consider the big picture, and compromise where necessary. But not Trump. He’s too busy golfing or setting up his sham UFC boondoggle, or trying to get his name everywhere, such as on the dollar, on National Park passes, the Kennedy Center, airports, etc. He’s nothing more then a lazy demagogue, using Goebbellian techniques to keep his base bamboozled.
      
      Trump is the most malignantly narcissistic person I’ve ever seen, because of his irrational and obsessive need to be perceived as a “winner”. Everything is about him. He does not care one whit about this country or the people, and is doing a lot of long-term damage that will be hard to remediate.
      
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2. Bill from DC
  
  Mar 28, 2026 at 10:10 am
  
  Expecting the government to function normally while being run by petulant children is also a losing game.
  
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DesertGhost

Mar 28, 2026 at 9:28 am

It’s past time for elected officials of all political persuasions to begin to act like adults.

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corcovado

Mar 28, 2026 at 10:11 am

The country is literally falling apart. Its creaky infrastructure, unrelenting gun violence, institutionalized racism, bigotry, and foaming at the mouth hatred, its greed, worship of money, and infatuation with tearing people down then building them back up, a misplaced sense of exceptionalism (America is anything but exceptional, except in its hubris), are all to blame for the mess it finds itself in. The money folks, is also running out. The US is flirting with a significant default, given the insane corruption and pillaging championed by its regime. Foreign nations like China, Japan, and Great Britain are among the largest holders of US Treasury, and thus US debt. The nation under the leadership of a grifter and psychopath has put the world on a path toward a global recession and potentially, a severe economic depression that will look and feel much worse than the ravages of the pandemic, or the Great Recession of 2008 (another economic downturn that originated in the United Stares). The future for America is bleak and will end up looking like a 1991 version of the Soviet Union. Who is to blame? The country’s culture for one. Then there’s 78 million people who cheered this on in 2024 and voted it in. That last part, is unforgivable. Blame elected officials all you want. But also, blame yourselves.

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1990

Mar 28, 2026 at 7:00 pm

As I said before, Brett it was a pleasant surprise to hear your voice on NPR this week!

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Tom Gold

Mar 29, 2026 at 9:24 am

How did this thread devolve from security wait times into politics? I have my views, but lines is lines. What are folks seeing out there? I have to go to Vegas on Tuesday.

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1. Brett
  
  Mar 29, 2026 at 12:02 pm
  
  Tom – Thank you. Flew out of LAX this morning and there was no line at Bradley. But my return from Atlanta? That one I’m a little more worried about.
  
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Tom Seymour

Mar 29, 2026 at 12:45 pm

I live in Houston and both airports have been a shit show. If you don’t have hours long TSA lines, be thankful. People calling long lines fake news should stand in line in Houston with me and my friends.

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1. ejwpj
  
  Mar 29, 2026 at 1:13 pm
  
  I specifically mentioned the mess that was and is IAH. I did mention”fake news” and inaccurate reporting in many cities. And I still believe that – as other readers have said – to sell newspapers.
  And, no thanks, I prefer not to visit IAH – I believe you, as it has been reported!
  
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  1. Bill from DC
    
    Mar 30, 2026 at 5:32 am
    
    A friend told me WN advised her to change her flight as there was a 6 hour security wait at BWI on Saturday!
    
    Good on Southwest for being proactive.
    
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  2. Tom Gold
    
    Mar 30, 2026 at 5:46 am
    
    We are all Ladies (and Gentlemen) in Waiting!
    
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Hajime Sano

Mar 30, 2026 at 5:55 pm

I flew BOS-IAD-LAX on Tuesday (Mar. 24, 2026). I had braced myself for a long TSA line at BOS, but thankfully, there was no line. I used TSA Touchless ID, and walked right up the TSA officer and camera. This was in Terminal B (United), between 12:30-1:30 PM. The regular line and Pre-Check line both had a few people, but way less than normal.

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