TSA PreCheck & Global Entry Suspended: Government Play and a First for Frequent Fliers

With DHS funding stalled since February 14, the agency is taking the unprecedented step of pausing TSA PreCheck and Global Entry starting today, Sunday Feb 22nd at 6 a.m. ET. That means millions of travelers who normally rely on expedited screening will be pushed back into standard security and customs lines. Airlines are already releasing statements warning that this will create significant delays and congestion at airports nationwide.

Without PreCheck lanes operating, TSA will have to funnel everyone through the same general screening checkpoints. DHS has already said it is “prioritizing the general traveling population” and suspending all “courtesy and special privilege escorts,” which include TSA Pre.

CLEAR is privately operated, so it is not directly suspended, but it won’t be a workaround. With PreCheck closed, CLEAR members will end up in the same standard lanes as everyone else, meaning CLEAR will help you skip the ID check, but not the line. I found several airports already announcing CLEAR is closed as well.

In my twenty years of traveling professionally, this has never happened before. While past government shutdowns have caused staffing shortages and slowdowns, a full pause of the TSA Pre program is a new ball game. Several articles this morning already with airlines publicly criticizing the lack of warning and calling this a political football.

If you’re traveling in the coming days, build in extra time. A lot of it. With PreCheck and Global Entry offline and CLEAR only partially helpful, the airport experience is about to feel a lot more like 2010 than 2026.

DHS pausing TSA PreCheck, Global Entry programs amid funding lapse