The Airport Meltdown

The Daily

The New York Times

Daily News, News

4.3 • 107.6K Ratings

🗓️ 26 March 2026

⏱️ 29 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

For the past week, travelers flying across the United States have waited in security lines that snaked through airports and parking lots as Transportation Security Administration officers called out of work because of a partial government shutdown. Karoun Demirjian, a breaking news reporter for the The New York Times, explains what has led to the extraordinary delays, and Michael Gold, a congressional correspondent for The Times, discusses the negotiations in Congress to bring an end to the crisis.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Daily producer Diana Wynne here.
0:09.0	It's nine in the morning.
0:11.0	I am at Terminal E at George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston.
0:16.0	There's a line snaking out the door to get through security.
0:20.0	And we are going to go and talk to some of these people.
0:26.1	How are you feeling right now? I was very stressed the last couple of days. On Monday, I was in
0:32.5	security for five and a half hours getting literally to this very point where I was now, and then I've
0:38.2	missed my flight. I was here on Monday. I came on Tuesday and turned around, so this is my
0:43.8	third day trying to make it home. Oh my gosh. From New York Times, I'm Michael Bobaro. This is the Daily.
0:54.7	My flights at 245.
0:56.2	So you're giving yourself five, six, yeah, five hours.
1:00.3	On Wednesday, the misery that millions of travelers have endured over the past week became official.
1:07.7	I'm here seven hours before the flight. So that I make it today.
1:12.6	According to the TSA, security checkpoints at American airports are now experiencing
1:19.6	their longest wait times in history.
1:22.6	Honestly, the day I had on Monday was one of the worst travel experiences I've ever had.
1:27.8	There was no water, no food. It was horrible. That's not human.
1:32.9	Today, my colleague, Karen Demosian, on what's led to the stunning delays,
1:39.0	and Michael Gold on the increasingly urgent negotiations in Congress to bring this crisis to an end.
1:48.5	Is there anyone that you feel like is responsible for this situation?
1:53.3	Certainly the politicians.
1:55.0	The government for sure.
	...

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