Passengers at BWI Thurgood Marshall Airport told CBS Baltimore they waited more than an hour on Sunday to get through the security checkpoint as efforts to fund the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) remain at a stalemate.
Some said they are missing their flights and can't rebook until they get to their gates.
CBS Baltimore asked the Transportation Administration (TSA) if there was a staffing shortage at BWI on Sunday, but the agency has not responded.
President Trump said U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents could be sent to airports to assist in security efforts as early as Monday if the partial government shutdown isn't over.
The partial government shutdown has resulted in big staffing shortages for TSA, and agents missing paychecks, which is causing delays at airports across the country.
"The problem is, they don't have enough TSA agents, and so people have to feed their families," said BWI passenger Kim Fry. "If they can't, if they're not being paid, they've got to go do something. I mean, that's just reasonable. ICE is not going to help with that at all."
In a statement, TSA blamed Democrats for the shutdown, saying more than 400 TSA officers have quit during the shutdown and thousands of others have called out of work.
The agency said that by adding ICE officers, it will minimize airport disruptions.
"Because of the Democrat shutdown, President Trump is using every tool available to help American travelers who are facing hours-long lines at airports across the country, especially during this spring break and holiday season that is very important for many American families," said Lauren Bis, the Acting Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs for the Department of Homeland Security
Bis continued, "This pointless, reckless shutdown of our homeland security workforce has caused more than 400 TSA officers to quit and thousands to call out from work because they are not able to afford gas, childcare, food, or rent. While the Democrats continue to put the safety, dependability, and ease of our air travel at risk, President Trump is taking action to deploy hundreds of ICE officers, who are currently funded by Congress, to airports being adversely impacted. This will help bolster TSA efforts to keep our skies safe and minimize air travel disruptions."
In a social media post, BWI Airport advised travelers to arrive three hours before their scheduled flights.
"Due to longer than normal checkpoint wait times, travelers are advised to arrive 3 hours before scheduled departure," BWI said. "Thank you for your patience."
At 5:30 p.m., BWI said wait times for general passengers for Gate C was 10 minutes, and 20 minutes for Gates D/E. Gates A and B were closed. BWI then removed the feature from the website.
Instead, some travelers told CBS Baltimore they had been waiting for at least 90 minutes.
"You know, working people, you hope would be able to work, including people over here and behind me in the line who have business meetings tomorrow that they're gonna miss," said traveler Vickie Casanova. "There's a huge trickle-down effect, and I think we can do better."
"I've never experienced anything like this before, so I hope things can kind of get resolved with the government, and I don't know if it's spring break time,but flying is the easiest option for me overall," another traveler said.