March 18, 2026

With more than 30 percent of Transportation Security Administration officers absent from work at several airports across the United States this week, a senior T.S.A. official warned on Tuesday that the ongoing partial government shutdown may force the closure of small U.S. airports.

In an appearance on Fox News, Adam Stahl, the acting deputy administrator of the T.S.A., said that if the shutdown continues, “it’s not hyperbole to suggest that we may have to quite literally shut down airports, particularly smaller ones, if call-out rates go up.”

TSA officials warn that prolonged government shutdowns are causing a surge in absenteeism and resignations among officers who have been unpaid for over a month, putting severe strain on airport operations and threatening the closure of small U.S. airports if the situation persists.

Leave a Reply