HOUSTON — Travelers at George Bush Intercontinental Airport experienced a welcome change Saturday night as TSA security lines, which had stretched for hours earlier this week, dropped to just 10 to 15 minutes.
KPRC 2 News reporter Corley Peel observed Terminal A nearly empty, though some passengers still arrived hours—or even overnight—ahead of their flights to avoid potential delays.
“It’s been dead. There’s nobody here,” said traveler David De Los Santos, who arrived nearly 11 hours early for a flight to Tokyo. “We didn’t want to miss the flight. It leaves at five in the morning, so we showed up early, like at six o’clock this afternoon, just to make sure I can get in line in enough time.”
Similarly, Jared Oubre and his family spent the night at the airport to avoid standing in line with young children. “We’d just try to get through security and sleep at our gate so that we don’t have to stand in line with our young children,” he said.
The reason for the sudden decrease in wait times remains unclear, though President Donald Trump signed an emergency order Wednesday authorizing TSA agents to receive pay as soon as Monday.
The situation comes amid a broader Department of Homeland Security funding standoff. While the Senate approved a plan to fund TSA and other agencies, the House has not reached agreement, prolonging the government shutdown.
TSA agents have gone over a month without pay, leading to increased callouts and staff shortages at checkpoints, which contributed to the long lines earlier this week.
De Los Santos expressed frustration over the delay in payments. “I think it’s a really good thing. I think that it’s pretty unfortunate that they’ve gone this long without getting paid to begin with. It’s just disappointing knowing that our government’s failing our workers, our people,” he said.
Oubre said he hopes the shorter lines continue through the morning. Officials advise travelers to monitor TSA wait times via the Houston Airports website and app and to allow extra time for security regardless of current line conditions.