While passengers at some of the nation’s largest airports faced hourslong waits for security screening amid the ongoing partial government shutdown, travelers passing through Corpus Christi International Airport reported few delays and officials said operations remain unaffected.
The shutdown, now in its second month, has left about 10% of the Transportation Security Administration’s (TSA) 50,000 security agents calling off work nationwide due to missed paychecks. The agency’s employees are expected to miss their second paycheck this week if Congress does not act.
At larger airports, the staffing shortages have led to extended lines and prompted the Trump administration to announce Monday that it may deploy the National Guard to assist Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents already supporting TSA screening.
But at Corpus Christi International Airport, Marketing and Air Service Development Manager Lacey Guzman said the airport has not seen the same impacts.
“Everything’s still running pretty smoothly,” Guzman said. “We have a great team that continues to show up. When you see all of those impacts at other airports, it’s because employees are not showing up because they’re not being paid. But luckily we haven’t had any impacts here.”
Guzman said the airport remains in close contact with TSA managers and monitors conditions daily. She acknowledged that the situation could change if agents locally begin calling out, but said so far staffing has held steady.
In response to financial strain on TSA employees, the airport put out a call for donations of grocery cards, gas cards and meals. Guzman said the community response has been overwhelming, with lunch donations provided every day last week and more scheduled this week.
“We’ve been quite overwhelmed with the response,” she said. “As we always are when we open donations up to the community, a lot of organizations, a lot of businesses getting involved and reaching out and asking how they can help.”
Travelers arriving at the Corpus Christi airport Monday reported little to no trouble with security lines.
Reagan Crawford, who lives in Portland, said she flew out of Corpus Christi on an early flight with no wait time and found Houston’s airport busier than normal but still manageable. Returning from Las Vegas, she said she got through TSA in 30 minutes or less.
“It was a positive experience,” Crawford said.
Maria Darbin, who arrived from Dallas, said she was surprised by how smoothly her trip went. “No hustle, no lines,” Darbin said. “I really enjoyed the trip.”
A group of high school students arriving from El Paso said they cleared security in about 15 minutes with no issues. “Honestly, it was just pretty boring,” Ivan Lozano said. “It was pretty faster than usual than what I’m used to.”
Others were not as fortunate elsewhere.
Paul Rust, a Corpus Christi resident returning from New Orleans, described long lines stretching out into the garage area at the airport there. He said the wait was more than two hours before he was allowed to go through a pilot lane because his flight was departing in five minutes.
Nationwide, the shutdown’s impact on air travel has drawn increasing concern. President Donald Trump said Monday he may deploy the National Guard to airports if needed to assist ICE agents who have already been brought in to help with screening.
U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy warned Sunday that delays are likely “going to get much worse” if Congress does not fund the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees TSA.
Guzman said she understands that national headlines can make travelers nervous, but she urged passengers to check with their airline apps for updates and noted that locally, operations remain normal.
“I think a lot of the headlines in the news right now is quite scary, and if you have upcoming travel you might be a little bit nervous about what’s going on,” she said. “But here at the airport everything is running smoothly. We have not seen really any impacts.”
When asked about reports of ICE activity at airports, the Corpus Christi International Airport issued a statement Monday saying it had “no information or confirmed activity to report regarding U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) at the airport.”
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