Salt Lake airport bucked national trend during TSA funding lapse

SALT LAKE CITY — When TSA workers went unpaid during the federal government shutdown earlier this year, airports across the country saw staffing shortages, long lines and frustrated travelers.

Salt Lake City International Airport appeared to avoid much of that chaos.

New data shows that while TSA checkpoint traffic dropped nationwide, the number of passengers screened at the Salt Lake City International Airport actually increased.

During the shutdown, some TSA agents across the country called out sick or quit their jobs to find work that could pay the bills. That led to fewer workers and longer security lines at many airports.

But several visits to Salt Lake City International Airport found relatively little disruption. Lines remained short and appeared to move at their usual pace.

"We're just not seeing those wait times that other airports are," airport spokesperson Nancy Volmer said at the time.

Related:

Salt Lake airport keeps wait times low amid shutdown impacting TSA workers

Salt Lake City International Airport was able to buck the trend of long waits as TSA workers call out sick or walk away during the shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security.

Volmer credited several steps taken by the airport and its partners to help federal workers bridge the gap while they were not receiving paychecks.

Those efforts included setting up a food pantry and providing meals through airport airlines and concession businesses.

"I've talked to a few of the workers. They say, 'You've got the food pantry. You have airlines and concessions providing lunches. We really feel valued.' So they're showing up for work," Volmer said.

Salt Lake City was an outlier

New data suggests those efforts may have paid off.

Upgraded Points analyzed TSA checkpoint data from March through May and shared its findings with the KSL Investigators.

Nationwide, the average number of passengers going through TSA checkpoints fell 6.7% compared with the same period in 2025.

The number of passengers screened by TSA agents at Salt Lake City increased 1.7% during that same period.

Despite the increase in travelers, airport officials said they did not see a corresponding spike in security wait times.

"On this Wednesday morning, I'm watching people breeze through," KSL Investigator Matt Gephardt told Volmer during a visit to the airport.

"Yep," Volmer responded.

"Have you seen a spike at all?" Gephardt asked.

"We really have not," Volmer said.

Salt Lake City International Airport is newer than many airports around the country and has newer technology at its security checkpoints. Volmer said that technology also helped keep passengers moving during the shutdown.

But airport officials said supporting the federal workers staffing those checkpoints was another important part of keeping operations running normally.

The result was a rare combination during the funding lapse: more travelers, but no significant increase in security lines.

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