Storms and DHS shutdown snarl flights as airports see delays and staff shortages

Published March 17, 2026 6:36pm ET



U.S. airports are seeing longer security lines and delayed flights as a perfect storm of TSA staffing shortages and weather events affects air travel, more than a month into the shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security.

Dozens of airports are experiencing delays on departing and inbound flights across the United States as the partial government shutdown stretches into its fifth week. At the time of publication, over 7,300 flights were delayed in the country, and more than 2,100 were canceled, according to the flight-tracking website FlightAware. Tens of thousands of flights were delayed over the weekend as well, as weather alerts affected the country and tornado warnings hit Washington, D.C.

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