How to Deal with Crazy Long TSA Lines at Airport

This past weekend, school Spring Break week kicked off in several cities. With that comes more airport traffic. Combined with the government shutdown that affects TSA workers, it’s a recipe for disaster.

And that’s what happened at a few airports, with the biggest headlines surrounding airports in Houston and New Orleans.

1:20 P.M. UPDATE | Shortly after the security wait times were reported on the https://t.co/frwkstFoIi website as 3.5 hours, they went back down to two hours.

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BREAKING UPDATE | Hobby Airport security wait times are now at 3.5 hours. The FAA has also… pic.twitter.com/Q0QeKsxSQS

— KHOU 11 News Houston (@KHOU) March 8, 2026

Of course, people love to point fingers on who is to blame for this problem. But that doesn’t solve the problem of how to ensure we don’t miss our spring break flights due to long TSA lines. So, how do we deal with these potentially long TSA lines?

Monitor your airport’s TSA wait times online. When I look at DFW’s site, I can see the locations and wait times for security as well as which TSA Precheck lines are open.
Arrive earlier than normal, even if wait times appear normal online. You can always sit in a lounge or chill in a restaurant in the terminal for an extra hour or two.

I plan to do both of those things when my family flies this weekend. We are flying to Florida to connect to an international flight, so missing our flight is not an option. I’m crossing my fingers that TSA Precheck lines remain open.