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Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy warned that if the DHS shutdown continues into next week, the government may have to close some airports.
50,000 security officers are working without pay amid the shutdown.
“They’re about to miss another payment. This is gonna look like child’s play, what’s happening right now,” Duffy said, according to NewsNation.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said the partial government shutdown will lead to airport closures as challenges grow for TSA agents who are not receiving paychecks https://t.co/BCoJDRNyyP
— Bloomberg (@business) March 19, 2026
NewsNation shared further:
TSA agents have been working without pay for weeks as DHS remains shut down. Parts of the department have been at a standstill since Feb. 14 as lawmakers debate federal immigration enforcement reform and agency funding and await the confirmation of a new department leader.
Trump administration officials have put the blame for the shutdown squarely on Democrats, who counter that they have offered pathways to end the shutdown — and have not received Republican support.
House Democrats are signing a petition that would force the House to take up a bill from Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., to fund the TSA and other DHS agencies. The bill would not fund ICE, Customs and Border Protection or the Office of the Secretary.
The longer the funding standoff lasts, the longer the lines at major airports across the country are expected to grow. Smaller airports could shutter operations entirely if too many workers call out, Duffy said last week.
Acting TSA Administrator Adam Stahl told NewsNation that line of messaging is anything but hyperbole: “This is reality.”
“THREE HOURS of security wait times today for passengers at Houston’s Bush Airport!” Duffy said on Friday.
“Brought to you by @SenSchumer and Democrats,” he added.
THREE HOURS of security wait times today for passengers at Houston’s Bush Airport!
Brought to you by @SenSchumer and Democrats 🤡 https://t.co/yWubQC57vv
— Secretary Sean Duffy (@SecDuffy) March 20, 2026
Although Duffy hasn’t identified which airports may shutter, Newsweek has identified a list of hubs that could potentially be impacted if the shutdown continues.
Some smaller airports may have to close as TSA staffing shortages increase strain on services, amid the ongoing DHS partial shutdown. https://t.co/XOOrH4D8DN
— Newsweek (@Newsweek) March 18, 2026
Newsweek explained:
The FAA classifies large hub airports as those accounting for 1 percent or more of annual U.S. passenger boardings. Under the agency’s current appendix, there are 31 large hubs nationwide.
There are also 42 medium hubs, each accounting for between 0.25 percent and 1 percent of annual passenger boardings. These include airports such as Portland International, Memphis International, and airports in Puerto Rico and Guam.
Despite the far smaller traffic volume, small hub airports are still considered primary airports, meaning they have more than 10,000 passenger boardings a year.
Here are the 74 airports currently classified as small hubs by the FAA:
- Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International, Alabama (BHM)
- Huntsville International-Carl T Jones Field, Alabama (HSV)
- Fairbanks International, Alaska (FAI)
- Phoenix-Mesa Gateway, Arizona (IWA)
- Tucson International, Arizona (TUS)
- Bill and Hillary Clinton National/Adams Field, Arkansas (LIT)
- Northwest Arkansas National, Arkansas (XNA)
- Fresno Yosemite International, California (FAT)
- Long Beach (Daugherty Field), California (LGB)
- Palm Springs International, California (PSP)
- Santa Barbara Municipal, California (SBA)
- City of Colorado Springs Municipal, Colorado (COS)
- Bradley International, Connecticut (BDL)
- Eglin AFB/Destin-Fort Walton Beach, Florida (VPS)
- Key West International, Florida (EYW)
- Northwest Florida Beaches International, Florida (ECP)
- Orlando Sanford International, Florida (SFB)
- Pensacola International, Florida (PNS)
- Punta Gorda, Florida (PGD)
- Sarasota/Bradenton International, Florida (SRQ)
- St. Pete-Clearwater International, Florida (PIE)
- Savannah/Hilton Head International, Georgia (SAV)
- Guam International, Guam (GUM)
- Ellison Onizuka Kona International at Keahole, Hawaii (KOA)
- Hilo International, Hawaii (ITO)
- Lihue, Hawaii (LIH)
- Des Moines International, Iowa (DSM)
- The Eastern Iowa, Iowa (CID)
- Wichita Dwight D. Eisenhower National, Kansas (ICT)
- Blue Grass, Kentucky (LEX)
- Louisville Muhammad Ali International, Kentucky (SDF)
- Portland International Jetport, Maine (PWM)
- Gerald R. Ford International, Michigan (GRR)
- Jackson-Medgar Wiley Evers International, Mississippi (JAN)
- Springfield-Branson National, Missouri (SGF)
- Bozeman Yellowstone International, Montana (BZN)
- Reno/Tahoe International, Nevada (RNO)
- Manchester-Boston Regional, New Hampshire (MHT)
- Albany International, New York (ALB)
- Buffalo Niagara International, New York (BUF)
- Frederick Douglass/Greater Rochester International, New York (ROC)
- Long Island MacArthur, New York (ISP)
- Syracuse Hancock International, New York (SYR)
- Westchester County, New York (HPN)
- Asheville Regional, North Carolina (AVL)
- Piedmont Triad International, North Carolina (GSO)
- Wilmington International, North Carolina (ILM)
- Hector International, North Dakota (FAR)
- James M. Cox Dayton International, Ohio (DAY)
- Tulsa International, Oklahoma (TUL)
- Will Rogers World, Oklahoma (OKC)
- Mahlon Sweet Field, Oregon (EUG)
- Rogue Valley International-Medford, Oregon (MFR)
- Roberts Field, Oregon (RDM)
- Lehigh Valley International, Pennsylvania (ABE)
- Rhode Island T. F. Green International, Rhode Island (PVD)
- Columbia Metropolitan, South Carolina (CAE)
- Greenville-Spartanburg International, South Carolina (GSP)
- Myrtle Beach International, South Carolina (MYR)
- Joe Foss Field, South Dakota (FSD)
- Lovell Field, Tennessee (CHA)
- McGhee Tyson, Tennessee (TYS)
- El Paso International, Texas (ELP)
- Lubbock Preston Smith International, Texas (LBB)
- McAllen Miller International, Texas (MFE)
- Midland International Air and Space Port, Texas (MAF)
- Valley International, Texas (HRL)
- Cyril E. King, U.S. Virgin Islands (STT)
- Burlington International, Vermont (BTV)
- Richmond International, Virginia (RIC)
- Spokane International, Washington (GEG)
- Appleton International, Wisconsin (ATW)
- Dane County Regional-Truax Field, Wisconsin (MSN)
- Jackson Hole, Wyoming (JAC)