The impending blizzard to the northeastern portion of the U.S. won’t be the only thing disrupting air travel over the next few days.
Millions of travelers who rely on TSA PreCheck and Global Entry to speed through airport security and customs checkpoints lost access to those programs Sunday morning, as the Department of Homeland Security suspended both amid an ongoing partial agency shutdown, the Washington Post first reported.
The pause took effect early Sunday, according to the Post, which cited a DHS spokesperson. The suspension is one of several emergency measures the agency has taken to redirect staff and resources more than a week after Congress failed to pass a funding deal to keep the department fully operational.
The shutdown began last week after Republicans and Democrats were unable to agree on immigration enforcement reforms, leaving much of DHS without appropriated funds.
In a statement cited by the Post, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said the agency is “making tough but necessary workforce and resource decisions” and is prioritizing the “general traveling population” at entry points, language that suggests staffing is being concentrated on standard screening lanes rather than the expedited programs.
For the millions of Americans enrolled in TSA PreCheck (the platform crossed the 20 million member threshold in 2024, per TSA), that means no access to the dedicated fast lanes at U.S. airports that allow travelers to leave laptops in bags and move through security more quickly. Global Entry members, pre-approved international travelers who normally bypass standard customs lines upon returning to the United States, are similarly affected.
It’s unclear how long the suspension will last. DHS did not immediately respond to Reuters, which reported the Post’s story, when asked for comment.
The move adds to a growing list of disruptions tied to the DHS funding lapse. On Thursday, the Trump administration ordered the Federal Emergency Management Agency, also part of DHS, to halt the deployment of hundreds of disaster relief workers to communities across the country.
Travelers heading to airports Sunday and in the coming days (or inbound travelers from international cities) should expect longer wait times and plan accordingly, particularly at busy international terminals where Global Entry kiosks would normally ease congestion.
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