Spring break flyers warned of massive TSA lines as shutdown drains airport staff
Spring break travelers heading to airports during the ongoing partial U.S. government shutdown should brace for potential delays, with experts warning security lines are already stretching for hours at some airports.
Passengers across the country are reporting longer Transportation Security Administration (TSA) wait times, flight delays and crowded terminals — with security lines at some airports topping three hours, according to Eric Napoli, chief legal officer at travel company AirHelp.
Airport security lines in Austin, Texas, stretched out the door early Friday, with passengers waiting hours to board flights.
“For passengers that did not factor in the possibility of longer lines, many are missing their flights as a result,” Napoli told FOX Business.
GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN WILL DELAY RELEASE OF JANUARY JOBS REPORT
The disruptions come as more than 300 TSA officers have left the agency since the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) shutdown began. Unscheduled absences — or callouts — have also climbed to roughly 6% nationwide, a TSA official previously confirmed to Fox News Digital.
“When critical aviation personnel, particularly TSA officers, are working without pay the result is staffing shortages and operational strain across airports throughout the country,” Napoli told FOX Business.
Global Entry processing — which had been paused earlier during the shutdown — resumed last Wednesday, a move Napoli said could help ease congestion by shifting some travelers out of standard security lines.
Napoli advises travelers to plan ahead to avoid disruptions, including arriving earlier than usual and booking early-morning flights, which are less likely to be impacted by cascading delays throughout the day.
HOW MUCH DO GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWNS COST AMERICAN TAXPAYERS?
Passengers should also pack essential items in carry-on bags in case of baggage delays or overnight disruptions.
Napoli urged travelers to understand their rights if flights are canceled or significantly delayed.
“If the airline informs that passenger that their flight is canceled or that there is a new schedule that makes the flight significantly delayed, the passenger is entitled to reject the new schedule, decide not to take the flight, and obtain a full cash refund,” Napoli said.
For baggage issues on domestic flights, airlines must reimburse reasonable expenses up to $3,800 per passenger under federal regulations, he added.
TRAVEL EXPERT WARNS AMERICANS TO ‘BOOK NOW’ AS OIL PRICES THREATEN HIGHER AIRFARES
Travel insurance and certain credit cards may also provide coverage for delays, missed connections or lost luggage.
CLICK HERE TO GET FOX BUSINESS ON THE GO
“The best prepared passenger is one that is well-informed on their rights in various flight scenarios and when they can pursue compensation,” Napoli said.
Fox News Digital’s Louis Casiano and Ashley DiMella contributed to this report.
From ‘bad decisions’ to redemption: Brantley Gilbert launches late Hulk Hogan-inspired non-alcoholic beer
Brantley Gilbert, the seven-time No.1 country hit singer-songwriter, has experienced more than one occasion in his life where his 14-year sobriety felt like sitting on the sidelines.
“Nothing beats a cold beer when you’re grilling out or watching a game with your buddies, your family. And as a country music songwriter, we write about cold beer in every other song,” Gilbert told Fox News Digital.
“This is a chance for those of us that have taken alcohol out of our lives for one reason or another to drink a cold beer,” he said, “and share one with our buddies.”
America’s oldest and youngest generations are drinking less, with U.S. alcohol use hitting its lowest point in nearly a century, according to the 2025 Gallup Consumption Habits survey. Only 54% of adults reported using alcohol last year, with half of 18-to-34-year-olds not drinking at all — a steep drop from the 72% of young adults who did two decades ago.
SOBER CURIOUS FOR THE SUMMER? T.H.C.-INFUSED BEVERAGES ARE ON A HIGH
The desire to cut back on alcoholic beverages has poured into a budding market of non-alcoholic beers and wines, which Gilbert is now proudly a part of.
Going from fan to owner, the country music powerhouse is Real American Beer’s (RAB) latest major equity partner. He’s spearheading the launch of RAB Zero, the brand’s first non-alcoholic drink that promises “real beer energy” without compromise.
For every case that’s sold, RAB plans to donate $1 to the U.S.O.
“The RAB folks are just next-level people, and they’re patriots,” Gilbert said. “They’re about God, family and country, and that’s easy to get on board with for me.”
Real American Beer aims to set itself apart from rivals by making the beer a part of a meaningful experience rather than focusing on the product itself. The brand launched in 2024 and pays homage to its late founder, Hulk Hogan.
Led by former Anheuser-Busch InBev executive Terri Francis, he previously told FOX Business that it had been Hogan’s dream to “be bigger than Bud Light” before his death in July 2025 at age 71, just over a year after launching the company.
“[Growing] up, watching wrestling, I thought Hulk Hogan was almost the second coming, and getting a chance to meet him and knowing what he was up to with Real American Freestyle, I got a chance to kind of become friends with him and writing the theme song for that, what he wanted it to sound like,” Gilbert reflected. “Really, you know, the conversation had to develop into, what do you want this brand to be about? And obviously that was just all-American.”
“I don’t really partner with people that I don’t believe in or products that I don’t use myself,” he added. “Having a stake in the game obviously adds to the equation.”
Gilbert, who has been sober since December 2011, explained why he wanted a product that allowed people to participate in “beer moments” without alcohol.
“I finally came to terms with the fact that I’m allergic to alcohol, like I break out in handcuffs and bad decisions,” Gilbert said.
“It’s not that I can’t drink. It’s that I choose not to, you know what I mean? It’s a choice. And I think people are a little more respectful towards that… This is an option… for beer lovers like myself to still pop a top and cheers your buddies and have a cold beer without having all the bad decisions, all the negative things that come with it.”
The country music star views this partnership as a way to carry the torch for his late friend while celebrating his own personal redemption as a married dad of three.
He also sees 2026 as “a hell of a ride,” even teasing that more new music is coming.
GET FOX BUSINESS ON THE GO BY CLICKING HERE
“My story is one of those being blessed… My wife coming back in the picture and giving me a chance to love her after not seeing or speaking to each other for six or seven years,” Gilbert said. “It is this kind of redemption story that, without, frankly, I would be not in a great place.”
“Years down the road, God willing, we are cheers-ing and celebrating not just the success story of this brand, but the success story of American patriotism.”
FOX Business’ Daniella Genovese contributed to this report.
