Storms cancel more US flights as TSA remains under pressure from partial government shutdown

Travelers wait in line at a security checkpoint at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport on Monday, March 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Emilie Megnien) 2026-03-16T18:45:07Z Thousands of flights across the U.S. were canceled or delayed Monday as powerful storms swept across the eastern half of the country and a partial government shutdown affecting airport security screeners dragged into a second month. The disruptions come at an already challenging time for air travel, in part because the shutdown that began Feb. 14 has strained staffing at some security checkpoints. At the same time, airports are crowded with spring break travelers and fans heading to March Madness games, the annual NCAA men’s and women’s college basketball tournaments. Flight delays and cancellations piled up Monday at some of the nation’s largest airports, including those in New York, Chicago and Atlanta. The storm system that dropped snow by the foot in the Midwest was barreling toward the East Coast with dangerously high winds and the potential for “producing strong and long track tornadoes,” the National Weather Service warned Monday. More than 3,600 flights scheduled to fly into, out of or within the U.S. on Monday have been called off, according to flight-tracking site FlightAware. Roughly 6,800 other U.S. flights were delayed. Kelly Price, who was trying to get home to Colorado after a family vacation in Orlando, Florida, said her Sunday night flight wasn’t canceled until early Monday. AP AUDIO: Storms cancel more US flights as TSA remains under pressure from partial government shutdown At a news conference outside the Atlanta airport, Aaron Barker, president of AMG local 550, says TSA workers deserve to be paid like other government workers who are still getting paychecks during the partial shutdown. “By that time the only place for us to sleep was the airport floor. So we’re all tired and frustrated,” she said, adding that the soonest flight she and her family could book doesn’t leave un

原文链接: AP News