Airport travelers and TSA agents took a sigh of relief when news broke that President Donald Trump had authorized funding for TSA via executive order, but the airport chaos left in its wake will not be fixed immediately.

Aviation experts indicate that noticeable improvements in security lines could begin within 24 to 48 hours once funding is restored on Monday and back pay reaches the roughly 50,000 TSA officers who have gone without pay since the shutdown began in mid-February.

The shutdown caused dramatic callouts among TSA officials with some airports reporting over 40% of of officers not showing up for work. Many officers are expected to return quickly once they receive confirmation of full pay. However, full recovery to pre-shutdown staffing levels and typical wait times may take several days to weeks to return. Almost 500 TSA agents did not just call out sick; they quit their jobs.

Longer wait times will persist as TSA scrambles to hire and onboard replacements. Due to the training it takes to become a TSA agent, it could be months before the program is fully restored. It takes a TSA agent 4-6 months before they are fully onboarded, trained, and able to work independently. 

TSA Deputy Administrator Adam Stahl has warned that the impacts will be “long-standing,” with payroll processing delays and reduced morale continuing to affect operations even after the Senate-approved funding bill clears final hurdles. “I can tell you right now that the reverberations that will be felt from this will be long-standing. They will continue for days after we get a re-appropriation and funding, particularly for the department for TSA.” The administrator added, “But we’re working as quickly as possible with our partners to make sure once we get that money, we’ll hit the ground running and get that into our people’s pockets as quickly as possible.”

TSA officers faced significant financial pressure, with many relying on food donations and taking second jobs while continuing their work. Several communities even set up GoFundMe Accounts to help the agents. President Trump signed the executive order to pay TSA agents early Friday, authorizing DHS to redirect funds to the agency that have a “reasonable and logical nexus to TSA operations.”

“Because the Democrats have recklessly created a true National Crisis, I am using my authorities under the Law to protect our Great Country, as I always will do!” he explained on Truth Social. “Therefore, I am going to sign an Order instructing the Secretary of Homeland Security, Markwayne Mullin, to immediately pay our TSA Agents in order to address this Emergency Situation, and to quickly stop the Democrat Chaos at the Airports. It is not an easy thing to do, but I am going to do it! I want to thank our hardworking TSA Agents and also, ICE, for the incredible help they have given us at the Airports. I will not allow the Radical Left Democrats to hold our Country hostage any longer.”

While TSA is now temporarily funded, the partial shutdown negotiations drag on, with the House expected to kill the shutdown deal passed by the Senate, arguing it cannot be passed without full funding for ICE and Border Patrol.