After viral images of security lines stretching for four or more hours, some airports are sending a message to travelers: This is not it.
In a polite public service announcement, John Glenn Columbus International Airport in Ohio told travelers that arriving 90 minutes ahead of departure was the “sweet spot.”
“Showing up too early creates those first-wave lines,” the airport wrote on social media. Adding a thumbs-up emoji, the message asked passengers to “help us keep things moving.”
A partial government shutdown left Transportation Security Administration workers unpaid during the heavy spring break travel season over the past several weeks, leading to staffing shortages and lines that stretched across multiple sections of airports.
Austin-Bergstrom International Airport in Texas has consistently asked passengers to arrive early — about two and a half hours for domestic flights and three hours for international travel.
On Monday, the airport addedmore information: “There is no need to line up more than 4 hours before your flight, as this causes congestion in the lines for those flying out sooner.”
Early morning travel PSA
90 minutes before departure is the sweet spot. Showing up too early creates those first-wave lines. Even when lines stretch to ticketing, waits are usually ~45 mins. Help us keep things moving
pic.twitter.com/H2QNbnAW4K
— John Glenn Intl Airport (@columbusairport) March 27, 2026
This hasn’t been the case at other airports — at least until recently. Some hard-hit locations, like Bush Intercontinental in Houston, had previously warned of waits that lasted more than four hours during peak congestion. Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport askedtravelers to arrive four hours before their scheduled departure over the weekend. Entrepreneurs have offered their services babysitting the lines. An untold number of passengers have missed flights.
Scott Keyes, founder of the cheap flight alert service Going, said travelers may see those horror stories and vow to show up as early as it takes to make their flight. But if someone with a later-morning flight arrives four hours early as a precaution, they’re adding to the lines all the early-morning travelers need to wait in as well.
“It’s almost like rush-hour traffic,” he said. “You’re going to get there in time. You’re also adding to rush-hour traffic.”
Some airline counters might not even allow travelers to check bags until a certain point before their flight, and TSA lines might not be open in the wee hours, said Zach Griff, travel expert and author of the newsletter From the Tray Table. That can lead to people waiting before lines even start moving.
Not every airport has been overwhelmed — and many were reporting security lines that resembled normal on Tuesday, after TSA workers started receiving paychecks due to an executive order from President Donald Trump. Trump also deployed ICE agents to airports to assist with long lines; it’s not clear how long they’ll stay as the shutdown continues.
In a statement, Lauren Bis, acting assistant secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, said airport chaos was starting to ease.
“Since President Trump’s issued an order to pay TSA officers on March 28, TSA officer call outs have dropped by roughly 30%,” the statement said.
Just over 2,500 TSA officers called out on Monday, or 8.6 percent, with the highest rates in Atlanta, Houston, New Orleans, Baltimore and New York City.
And yet operations in Baltimore were “routine” on Tuesday, with short TSA lines that were “moving quickly and efficiently,” BWI spokesman Jonathan Dean said in an email. Atlanta’s airport reported wait timesunder five minutes on Tuesday, while Bush Airport’s longest linewas reportedly 15 minutes in the afternoon.
Newark Liberty International Airport had somewhat longer waits, with one checkpoint reaching nearly 45 minutes and some at John F. Kennedy International in New York exceeding30 minutes.
Griff, who created a TSA wait times dashboard, said he’s seeing the longest lines early in the morning at the busiest airports. He said Tuesday he was not seeing four-hour lines — but warned travelers to stay informed about their particular airport because long waits could form unexpectedly.
“You really have to stay on your game,” he said.
He said he has heard from travelers who said they have watched wait times and opted for a cautious approach amid the uncertainty.
“It is causing a lot of folks who end up deciding, ‘I don’t really care; I’ll just get there three hours early,’” he said.
Griff said there can be a good outcome for airports when travelers arrive early and make it through security.
“These are people now who are becoming captive audience to all their concessions,” he said.
Beau Zimmer, spokesman for Tampa International Airport, said if people want to show up a little earlier than the two hours recommended for domestic flights, the airport doesn’t mind. He warned that they should make sure they aren’t too early to check bags or go through security.
Tampa has not seen extremely long waits during spring break travel or had issues with extra-early arrivals, he said.
“Passengers are happiest when they’re not stressed, when they’re not worried about the lines, when they just have plenty of time,” he said.
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