Getting to the Airport 3 Hours Early Is No Guarantee You'll Make Your Flight, as TSA Crisis Worsens

Airport security lines across the U.S. keep getting worse, as the partial government shutdown has forced TSA officers to work for free, and about 10% of workers are now calling out. Experts say air travelers should arrive early, but that doesn’t guarantee that they’ll make their flight. In fact, some people in Atlanta who arrived at the airport three hours early on Friday still missed their flights. “Y’all… I’ve NEVER seen Hartsfield Jackson this bad. This is what security looks like this morning (Friday). We’ve talked to people that got to the airport at 3am that missed their 6am flight,” tweeted Ella Dorsey, a meteorologist with local TV station Atlanta News First. Y'all… I've NEVER seen Hartsfield Jackson this bad. This is what security looks like this morning (Friday). We've talked to people that got to the airport at 3am that missed their 6am flight. @ATLNewsFirst @GAFollowers pic.twitter.com/xsF5h1N1XG — Ella Dorsey (@Ella__Dorsey) March 20, 2026 Hartsfield-Jackson International is one of the busiest airports in the world, handling over 100 million passengers each year. The callout rate for TSA workers in Atlanta reached nearly 40% this week. But it’s not just passengers in A