When To Expect Normal Airport Security Wait Times, As Tsa Officers Begin To Receive Back Pay

With Transportation Security Administration employees across the country expected to receive their first full paycheck in over 40 days on Monday, travelers across the country are keeping a keen eye on security lines at some of the nation's largest travel hubs.

Security wait times have skyrocketed in recent weeks, as TSA staffing levels dwindled due to officer callouts amid the ongoing partial government shutdown, resulting in hourslong waits in some places.

President Donald Trump on Friday signed a presidential memorandum ordering the Department of Homeland Security to begin issuing paychecks to TSA employees, who have gone without pay for weeks, directing DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin to work with the Office of Management and Budget to tap into funds "that have a reasonable and logical nexus to TSA operations" to carry out the directive.

Are TSA wait times back to normal levels?

As TSA employees start to see some back pay on Monday, the impact on security line wait times remains to be seen. While some airports are still reporting extended wait times, others appear to be moving efficiently.

New York City's LaGuardia Airport, for example, reported security wait times of over one hour on Monday morning at Terminal B, which services airlines like United, Southwest and JetBlue. Terminal A, which services BermudAir and Spirit Airlines, according to the airport's website, and Terminal C, which services Delta Air Lines, both had listed wait times under 10 minutes.

At other airports, like Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, passengers had previously been advised to allot at least four hours for screening, though the airport showed much shorter security wait times on its website as of Monday morning, all under five minutes.

Other airports previously impacted by long wait times also reported shorter lines on Monday, including George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston, at 10 minutes or less. John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City also reported security wait times under 20 minutes on Monday morning.

Is TSA back to full funding?

No. Congress is still at a stalemate over legislation to fund DHS, TSA's parent agency.

Senate Republicans struck a deal with Democrats last week to partially fund the agency, excluding Immigration Customs and Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection, which continue to receive funding through Trump's 2025 tax cut and spending megabill, signed last July. However House Republicans rejected the proposal, instead approving a short-term stopgap to fund the entire Department of Homeland Security for eight weeks.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer immediately declared the stopgap measure "dead on arrival" in the upper chamber, indicating Democrats would not back the legislation.

In the meantime, following Trump's presidential memorandum on Friday, TSA employees will start to see paychecks hitting their bank accounts again on Monday, March 30. These paychecks are expected to cover some of the back pay owed to TSA workers, who have been working without pay since the partial shutdown began back in February.

Despite the directive, TSA callout rates continued to track around 10% over the weekend, with 2,890 TSA officers calling out nationwide on Saturday, March 28.

Airports in Atlanta, New York City (JFK), Baltimore, and Houston (HOU and IAH) saw callout rates above 30%. IAH led the list, with 38.3% of workers calling out on Saturday.

More than 500 TSA officers have left the agency since the shutdown began on Feb. 14, according to DHS.

Will TSA payments help airport security lines moving forward?

Questions remain as to how exactly the TSA payments will affect staffing, and thus airport security lines moving forward.

"We're gonna pay them for as long as we have to," Trump said, speaking to reporters on Sunday night, declining to provide specific details on how many paychecks could be expected.

Jill DeJanovich, a TSA officer and member of AFGE local 1260, said the new paychecks fall short of securing TSA staffing in the future.

"It's not enough at all," she said. "We're only gonna be back-paid for the paychecks that we missed."

She added, "Moving forward, we don't know if we're gonna get paid in another two weeks."

How to check TSA security line wait times

In some cases, travelers have the ability to check security wait times online before heading to the airport.

The official My TSA app has historically provided travelers security line wait-time updates as they became available. During the shutdown, however, the app has not been "actively managed" due to the lack of funding, according to a statement on its site.  

Many airports share frequently updated, terminal-specific security wait times on their websites and apps. Major hubs like Dallas-Fort Worth, Denver, and each of the New York metropolitan area's major airports, for instance, typically offer real-time updates online, however travelers should be sure to check an airport's website ahead of time to ensure this is still the case.

Travelers can also check airport social media accounts for security line updates.

ABC News' Melanie Schmitz contributed to this article.