How long will it take for TSA to return to normal after the shutdown ends?

With a potential deal to end the partial government shutdown on the horizon, travelers are wondering when airport security lines could return to normal.

The six-week shutdown of Department of Homeland Security funding has snarled air travel, causing significant disruptions at airports across the country. The Transportation Security Administration falls under DHS. Some travelers are experiencing hours-long lines at security checkpoints of major hubs. At Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International, the world's busiest airport, passengers are being told to arrive at least four hours before their flight.

Transportation Security Administration worker absences reached their highest levels over the weekend since the shutdown began in mid-February, and the White House said on March 22 that more than 400 officers had quit. To alleviate understaffing at TSA, President Donald Trump announced that Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents would be deployed at more than a dozen U.S. airports, sparking concern among travelers.

After a March 24 meeting with the president, lawmakers said negotiations are making headway. Although conversations are still ongoing, the deal would likely fund DHS, including TSA, but postpone a vote on ICE funding.

If agreed upon, travelers could see relief quickly, according to Sheldon Jacobson, an aviation expert and professor of computer science at the University of Illinois Grainger College of Engineering.

Here's what travelers should know.

When will TSA workers return to work?

It could be as soon as a couple of days after the shutdown ends. It depends on how quickly TSA workers are informed that they will receive their full pay, prompting them to return to work, according to Jacobson.

"Once this deal gets signed into law and everybody gets their pay, then (employees) are going to show up," he added. "My guess is within 48 hours, we're going to have things back to pretty much normal, maybe even 24 hours."

However, DHS has said that TSA workers who do not return to work could cause a longer-term impact. In a post on X, the department said new TSA recruits require up to six months of training, so there could still be a cap on meeting passenger demand after the shutdown ends.

Will airport security lines disappear?

The long queues will likely dispel very quickly after TSA employees return to work, since they were caused by understaffing, Jacobson said.

"That's what's been happening in some airports, that if you have a certain number of people who just don't show up – and suppose they need enough people to man eight security lanes at a large airport and only six lanes can be manned – well, the math is very simple," he said.

Once most workers return, security checkpoints should be able to fully operate as normal. "Once you bring those people in who are skilled, working as a team, then the lanes start operating again," he continued.