Atlanta [US], March 20 : Security operations at Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport showed signs of marginal improvement on Friday following a morning of extreme congestion that saw domestic checkpoint wait times exceed 70 minutes, as reported by CNN.
While queues earlier in the day snaked through the airport's atrium, the situation eased slightly by midday, with posted wait times dropping to just under an hour. The airport's domestic TSA PreCheck lines, which had previously spilled into ticketing and baggage claim zones, also began returning to more typical levels.
The domestic disruption in Atlanta stands in sharp contrast to other major hubs.
According to CNN, passengers at airports in San Diego, Honolulu, and Austin experienced significantly shorter delays, with some clearing security within mere minutes despite the broader national staffing crisis.
The disparity in waiting times has been particularly evident at New York's LaGuardia Airport.
CNN noted that while the smaller, six-gate Terminal A remained serene, Terminal B--the airport's largest facility--was overwhelmed by passengers lining up from one end of the building to the other to endure a 30-minute wait.
Further west, the situation at George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston reached critical levels.
Travellers were met with "stop signs" and staggering wait estimates of up to "200 minutes" as queues ferried flyers through two stories of the terminal before reaching screening points.
The widespread travel chaos is a direct fallout of the ongoing partial government shutdown that began in mid-February.
CNN reported that the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is struggling with severe staffing shortages as employees are forced to work without pay after funding for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) lapsed.
The American Federation of Government Employees has intensified calls for legislative action, describing the situation as a "national disgrace" as thousands of federal families are forced to turn to food banks.
The union confirmed that the lapse in funding has caused "havoc" across the US aviation network.
Compounding the crisis, the DHS announced via X that at least 366 TSA agents have resigned during the shutdown.
The department warned that these departures leave "critical gaps in staffing," particularly as each new recruit requires "4-6 MONTHS of training" to become operational.
Special assistance services at the nation's busiest airport in Atlanta have also been hindered.
CNN highlighted that even the priority queues for passengers in wheelchairs and parents with strollers were backed up into the atrium, leaving those with medical conditions such as multiple sclerosis struggling to navigate the two-hour delays.