Andy LarsenWait times for airport security lines around the country have garnered headlines over the last week, as some airports have seen delays stretching past four hours due to the partial government shutdown that has Transportation Security Administration workers going without pay.
The security lines at Salt Lake City International Airport, though, generally had not seen much of a spike — until Friday morning, when some passengers waited over an hour.
By 11 a.m., the airport’s website said its expected wait time was just 11 minutes.
The airport attributed the morning’s delays to spring break travel.
Friday mornings usually see the longest lines at the airport, anyway. Wait times typically reach 37 minutes on Friday mornings at Salt Lake City, according to tracking service Qsensor. The extra volume of vacation travel and the TSA situation compounded that factor.
Salt Lake City airport officials say they’ve seen fewer TSA agents call out than at other airports, however. Earlier this week, the Department of Homeland Security reported that the nationwide average for agent call-outs was at 11%, with some airports seeing 40% call-out rates. Homeland Security has not chosen to send U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement personnel to the Salt Lake City airport to assist in TSA security operations as it has elsewhere.
One reason for more TSA agents sticking around during the shutdown: planning from the Salt Lake City Council. In October, the council set aside $100,000 to fund employees expected to work without pay during a government shutdown, which was used to create a food pantry for those workers.
Much of that budget still remains, and the pantry had tables well-stocked this week.
(Bethany Baker | The Salt Lake Tribune) Food is seen sitting on tables during a press conference to announce that Salt Lake City International Airport has organized a food pantry to assist federal employees who are not being paid during the federal shutdown, seen here on Thursday, Oct. 16, 2025.
The airport also accepts donations from the public to support TSA workers. There are blue donation bins at the airport’s park-and-wait lot and at the information desk on level 2 of the terminal. Gift cards can also be donated at the airport’s offices.
That being said, the situation could be coming to an end shortly. President Donald Trump said Thursday he’d sign an emergency executive order that funds TSA’s payroll, though as of Friday morning, he had not yet done so.
