Air travel and the government shutdown: What to know if you've got an upcoming flight

The Transportation Security Administration officers who screen roughly 2 million passengers a day are now again working without pay — for the second time in less than a year — due to a government shutdown.

Unlike last year’s shutdown, when a Republican-Democrat stalemate caused funding to lapse for the entire federal government for 43 days, this time funding lapsed only for the Department of Homeland Security, the TSA’s parent agency, leading to a shutdown that started Saturday, with the parties deadlocked. The lapse in funding isn’t stopping most of the services provided by the department.

Congressional Democrats insist that funding won’t be reauthorized and restored absent new constraints on how the Trump administration conducts immigration enforcement.

Here are answers to questions about how the shutdown could affect travel with spring break coming beginning next month.

How could transportation be disrupted this time?

Although TSA officers are deemed essential by the government, it’s possible that some screeners might not show up to work, due to a lack of pay. At the nation’s biggest airports, that might mean longer wait times. But elsewhere, particularly at airports with just one checkpoint, missing screeners could lead to an even bigger slowdown. For travelers, it’s advisable to arrive at the origin airport earlier than usual in case of delays.

It’s not just passenger screening that could be slowed. TSA officers also conduct behind-the-scenes screening of checked luggage, and fewer personnel coming to work could lead to collateral delays as well.

How is what’s happening now different from last year?

During a shutdown, all essential personnel — as determined by the government — are expected to work, even without pay. During last year’s shutdown, not only weren’t TSA officers being paid but neither were the government’s air traffic controllers, increasing the chance that flights would be delayed or outright canceled. (Air traffic controllers work for a different agency — the Federal Aviation Administration — which is under the Department of Transportation.)

The nation’s nearly 50,000 TSA officers, who screen passengers and baggage, work for DHS, whose funding lapsed, and are expected to keep working.

How was air transportation disrupted last time?

Last year, the government ordered commercial airlines to taper down the number of flights in and out of certain airports and briefly closed two TSA checkpoints in Philadelphia. Those slowdowns weren’t imposed immediately, although ramping flights back up to normal took some time.

What’s causing the latest shutdown?

According to The Associated Press, Democrats are refusing to fund the Homeland Security department and demanding "real accountability" and "dramatic changes" with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and other agencies that are executing President Donald Trump’s long-promised biggest deportation operation in American history. The Democrats’ demands come amid killings by immigration officers of two American protesters in Minnesota: Renee Good and Alex Pretti.

Among Democrats’ demands: stricter rules for warrants during immigration arrests, an enforceable code of conduct, and, as Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) put it, "masks off, body cameras on," along with identification requirements.

What is the travel industry saying about the shutdown?

The industry is concerned about the potential for disruption during upcoming spring break, when 173 million Americans typically travel.

"Travelers and the U.S. economy cannot afford to have essential TSA personnel working without pay, which increases the risk of unscheduled absences and call-outs, and ultimately can lead to higher wait times and missed or delayed flights," according to a joint statement by American Hotel & Lodging Association, Airlines for America and U.S. Travel.

By Matthew Chayes

matthew.chayes@newsday.comchayesmatthew

Matthew Chayes, a Newsday reporter since 2007, covers New York City.