How the DHS shutdown is impacting flights and employees at Philadelphia International Airport
As of Saturday, all security checkpoints are open at Philadelphia International Airport.
It has been three weeks since the Department of Homeland Security entered a shutdown, and at Philadelphia International Airport that means federal employees working without a paycheck, declining morale, and the travel industry bracing for an impact to flights.
Funding for DHS lapsed on Feb. 14 after lawmakers in Washington were unable to strike a deal for an allocation. Democrats blocked funding for the department, demanding reforms to Immigration and Customs Enforcement as its agents carry out President Donald Trump’s deportation agenda.
During the shutdown, ICE and Border Patrol will continue to be funded from the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. Employees in other DHS agencies, including the Transportation Security Administration, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and the Coast Guard, will bear the brunt of the funding lapse.
Most DHS employees are deemed “excepted,” meaning they must report to work — even without pay.
“These essential workers have already endured a 43-day government shutdown last fall and a 4-day shutdown earlier this year and have continued to serve the American people with pride,” Everett Kelley, president of the American Federation of Government Employees, said in a news release last week. “AFGE members are tired of … being forced on this roller coaster every time their elected officials fail to do their jobs.”
Here’s what to know about how the DHS shutdown is affecting workers and air travel at PHL:
What is the impact to air travel at Philadelphia International Airport?
As of Saturday morning, all security checkpoints were open at PHL, according to a spokesperson for the airport.
But the travel industry nationwide is bracing for potential problems if the shutdown stretches further into March and April, when travel volume increases, NPR reported.
As the shutdown drags on and TSA employees continue working without pay, it becomes more difficult for them to come into work.
“We’re going to see sickouts. We’re going to see screeners who love their jobs but are going to be forced to look for other jobs,” Todd Hauptli, the head of the American Association of Airport Executives, told NPR. “TSA is going to do their very best to try and keep those lines moving, but they’re not going to sacrifice safety. And that means people should be prepared as this drags out for longer lines.”
During the government shutdown last fall — the longest in history — PHL closed two checkpoints.
Unlike the current DHS shutdown, air traffic controllers were also working without pay. PHL was one of 40 “high-volume” airports that had their flight volume reduced by 10% as a result.
Are TSA employees still getting paid during the shutdown?
Nationwide, TSA employees have received a partial paycheck and are bracing to miss a full paycheck soon, marking the third time in just a handful of months that workers’ pay has been jeopardized by a lapse in government funding.
Top travel organizations in the U.S. launched their “Pay Federal Aviation Workers” campaign on Thursday, calling on Congress to pass legislation that would allow aviation workers to continue receiving pay during shutdowns.
Bipartisan bills in Congress, like the Shutdown Fairness Act, have been introduced to push for federal employees to get paid during shutdowns.
What is morale like for TSA employees during the DHS shutdown?
TSA employees have become all too familiar with trying to make ends meet while balancing a crucial national security job.
Joe Shuker, Region 7 vice president of AFGE Council 100, which oversees Pennsylvania, said in an interview ahead of the DHS shutdown that employees were still recovering from the previous lapse in government funding.
“There’s a lot of young people working here, young families, that need that check,” he said.
A lead transportation security officer at PHL said in an interview a few days into the shutdown that the previous stoppage put a strain on making his mortgage and car payments and paying other household bills.
“All the officers, they’re just like, ‘OK, well, I don’t have anything saved again, because we just literally got out of the shutdown, and we’re back in it again,’” he said.
Ha Nguyen McNeill, the acting TSA administrator, told Congress last month that roughly 1,110 transportation security officers left the agency in October and November 2025, a more than 25% increase from the same time period in 2024.
Shuker said employees feel like “pawns in the government game.”
“There’s no reason not to pay us.”
Staff writer Ariana Perez-Castells contributed to this article.