Air travelers are hacking TSA lines during hours-long major airport waits

22 Mar 2026 By foxnews

American travelers across the nation are facing hours-long security lines as TSA workers continue to receive empty paychecks.

LaGuardia Airport in New York City, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, William P. Hobby Airport in Houston and many other airports have had wait times of over 2.5 hours.

Now, some domestic passengers are "hacking the system" by going through international TSA lines, while others are taking advantage of touchless ID.

VIDEO CAPTURES CRAZY AIRPORT CROWDS AS PASSENGERS POUR INTO TERMINAL AFTER SECURITY CHECKPOINTS CLOSE

The Hartsfield-Jackson airport in Atlanta on Tuesday cautioned travelers about delays in an X-post - and called out passengers for attempting to hack the system.

"We are seeing increased congestion at the International Terminal Checkpoint caused by domestic travelers attempting to bypass lines in the Domestic Terminal," wrote airport officials.

"If you are flying domestically, please use the Domestic Security Checkpoints. At this time, wait times at the International Checkpoint are longer than those at the Domestic Terminal."

A TSA worker and union representative in Oakland, California, Joseph Cerletti, told Fox News Digital in an interview that it's "very unfortunate that people are trying to hack the system."

CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR OUR LIFESTYLE NEWSLETTER

He added, "It shouldn't be like this. I feel really bad for the traveling public. TSA funding needs to be prioritized immediately as [it's] a national security issue."

Many travelers who have TSA PreCheck are taking advantage of the touchless ID program, which "enhances the security screening process with facial comparison technology for faster, more efficient identity verification," according to TSA's website.

Participants must opt in by creating a profile through their airlines by uploading their valid passport information.

"Follow airport signs to the dedicated TSA PreCheck Touchless ID queue," says the TSA website.

"When your face is all you need to verify your identity, there's no fumbling with physical documents."

Photo and personal data are deleted within 24 hours of passengers' scheduled flight departures.

"I think Touchless ID is the best idea for people who want to skip the line," said Cerletti.

"The longer this goes [on], the worse the situation is gonna get on a day-by-day basis," he added.

TEST YOURSELF WITH OUR LATEST LIFESTYLE QUIZ

TSA PreCheck Touchless ID will be at 65 airports by spring 2026, according to the TSA.

Cerletti said some officers are having very tough conversations with their landlords or with their banks.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE LIFESTYLE STORIES

"You have cell phone bills, you have gas, you have groceries, you have car insurance. That [list] doesn't even account for rent or mortgage," he said.

"We deal with millions of people every day," he added, "and TSA [agents] have to make millions of right decisions every day. We have nearly 25 years [of] protecting this country. And funding TSA immediately would be good for the country. And again, the Democrats are nowhere near [to] making a deal right now."