Snaking Airport TSA Lines Are Angering Flyers From NYC to Houston

Travelers wait in line to go through security at George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston on March 23.Photographer: Ronaldo Schemidt/AFP/Getty Images

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By Dina Katgara, Jim Wyss, Catarina Saraiva, and Maya Davis

March 24, 2026 at 5:18 PM UTC

Updated on

March 24, 2026 at 6:30 PM UTC

Should I get to the airport five hours early? Or will only four hours do?

Those are the sort of questions travelers taking a flight from New York City, Houston and San Juan are asking themselves as a federal funding impasse squeezes airport staffing and stretches security lines.