California Airport Delays

Spring break is here, and if you’re headed to the airport in the coming days, you’ll want to give yourself more time than usual — significantly more. A 44-day partial government shutdown has gutted TSA staffing across the country, turning security lines at major airports into multi-hour ordeals and triggering some of the worst airport delays in recent memory in California. The good news for Orange County and Los Angeles travelers: not all airports are suffering equally. But that’s no reason to let your guard down.

Flying Out of SNA or LAX This Spring Break? What You Need to Know About California’s Airport Delays

The Department of Homeland Security has been without full funding since February 14, leaving roughly 50,000 TSA officers — classified as essential workers — required to report to duty without pay. The financial strain has been severe. Nationwide, callout rates hit a record high of nearly 12% in late March, and close to 500 TSA employees have quit since the shutdown began. At the hardest-hit airports, more than half of scheduled workers failed to show up on a single day. Philadelphia closed security checkpoints entirely. Houston saw wait times stretch to four hours. New Orleans advised passengers to arrive three hours before departure just to make their flights.

TSA Workers

By the time TSA workers missed two paychecks, the crisis had become impossible to ignore. With Congress at a standstill — lawmakers left for a two-week recess in March without reaching a deal to fund the Department of Homeland Security — President Trump stepped in. On Friday, March 27, he signed an executive order directing the department to pay TSA employees immediately, drawing on funds from last year’s federal legislation. The TSA announced paychecks would begin going out as early as Monday. Some relief followed — wait times at Atlanta and Houston improved that Monday morning — but experts caution that lines may not return to normal for another week or two. Officers need more than a single paycheck before they’ll regain confidence that the financial whiplash won’t repeat, and TSA still needs to reopen security lanes that were closed or consolidated during the worst staffing days.

To help manage the backlog in the meantime, President Trump also deployed Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents — alongside Customs and Border Protection (CBP) personnel — to assist at airports. Their roles are limited: verifying IDs, guarding entrances and exits, and managing crowd flow. They cannot operate X-ray machines or perform the specialized screening that trained TSA workers handle. Airlines, for their part, have been alerting passengers to delays and encouraging early check-in, though they are not legally required to rebook travelers who miss flights due to security delays.

What It Means for SNA and LAX Travelers

For Orange County residents flying out of John Wayne Airport (SNA), there is some reassuring information. As a smaller, regional hub, SNA has not experienced the staffing collapse seen at massive airports like LAX or Atlanta. Recent data shows security wait times at John Wayne averaging around 9 to 14 minutes — a fraction of what travelers are facing at major hubs. The airport’s compact layout and lower passenger volumes have provided a natural buffer against the worst of the disruption, making it a smart access point for those with flexibility in their departure plans.

That said, SNA is not immune. Current advisories recommend arriving 30 to 60 minutes earlier than you normally would, and wait times can shift quickly. Peak hours at SNA run from 6 to 9 a.m. and again from 4 to 7 p.m. Midday flights between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. typically have the shortest lines — worth keeping in mind if you’re booking travel now or have flexibility to add a time change.

LAX is a different story. As one of the nation’s busiest airports, it faces the same combination of high passenger volume and reduced staffing that has caused chaos elsewhere. Travelers departing from LAX this spring should plan for delays and build in at least two to three hours beyond their normal arrival time. Do not assume that because lines moved quickly last time, they will again — conditions at major hubs can change from one hour to the next.

Tips to Get Through Faster

Give yourself more time.

For LAX, arrive at least three hours before a domestic flight. For SNA, add an extra 30 to 60 minutes to your usual arrival time. Check your airport’s official website and social media for the latest information on wait times — these are updated manually and are more reliable than the MyTSA app, which TSA has not been actively managing during the shutdown.

Use TSA PreCheck or CLEAR+ if you have them.

Even with some backup at busier gates, expedited lanes remain dramatically faster than standard security lines. At John Wayne, PreCheck holders are averaging about five minutes. If you don’t have PreCheck, skip the airport enrollment kiosks — they’re crowded, and credentials may not be active in time for your trip.

Pack smart.

Wear slip-on shoes, keep outer layers easy to remove, and have your ID and boarding pass out before you reach the bins. If traveling with a group, make sure all PreCheck-eligible passengers enter the same lane to avoid reshuffling at the conveyor.

Opt into biometric screening.

Many airports — including California hubs — are expanding biometric identity verification. Selecting this option in your airline’s app before you travel can meaningfully cut down your time at the checkpoint.

Have a backup plan.

If you miss your flight, contact your airline immediately — many are working with passengers affected by security delays, even if they aren’t required to. Enable flight notifications on your airline’s app so you’re not caught off-guard by gate changes or delays. And before you leave home, check whether your travel insurance policy covers trip delays.

The Bottom Line

The TSA staffing crisis sparked by the Homeland Security shutdown is easing, but it isn’t over. Spring break collides with Passover and Easter this year, meaning airport crowds will stay heavy well into April. Orange County travelers flying out of SNA are in a better position than most in the country right now, but that advantage can disappear quickly on a busy travel day. Whether you’re departing from Santa Ana or Los Angeles this season, the smartest move is to give yourself more time than you think you need — and then a little more after that.

Escrito por

Michelle Jaco

Estratega de contenido y redactora publicitaria radicada en el Condado de Orange, cuenta con más de diez años de experiencia profesional en redacción. Licenciada en Inglés por la Universidad Estatal de San Diego, se especializa en la creación de identidad de marca y la mejora de la interacción con el lector, con experiencia en contenido legal, redacción publicitaria para startups de software y branding de estilo de vida. Cuando no está escribiendo en su cafetería favorita, Michelle suele viajar, correr por la playa y disfrutar de su afición deportiva animando a los Kansas City Chiefs y a los Los Angeles Dodgers (aunque insiste en que no es una oportunista).