Travelers across the United States faced security lines stretching up to three hours at major airports this weekend, as rising TSA absences created a staffing crisis that turned routine trips into marathon ordeals.

According to the Transportation Security Administration, absence rates among screening officers have climbed sharply in recent days, forcing airports in Atlanta, Chicago, Denver, and Los Angeles to close security checkpoints and consolidate operations. The result: massive bottlenecks that left some passengers missing flights despite arriving hours early.

"I got here two and a half hours before my flight, like they tell you to do, and I still barely made it," said Jennifer Martinez, a business traveler at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. "The line wrapped around the terminal twice. People were panicking."

While TSA officials have not publicly disclosed the cause of the elevated absences, sources familiar with the situation say the spike coincides with growing concerns about working conditions and staffing levels. The agency, which has struggled with retention for years due to relatively low pay and challenging work environments, may be seeing officers call out sick or use accumulated leave.

"TSA officers are among the lowest-paid federal employees, and they're being asked to process record numbers of passengers," explained Hydrick Thomas, president of the American Federation of Government Employees Council 100, which represents TSA workers. "Burnout is real, and it's catching up with the system."

The timing could hardly be worse. Spring break travel is ramping up, and airlines have scheduled aggressive flight loads to meet demand. Any disruption to security screening creates a domino effect throughout the aviation system, potentially affecting hundreds of flights and thousands of passengers.

Airport directors have scrambled to respond. activated its contingency plans, opening additional screening lanes where staff were available and deploying extra customer service personnel to manage frustrated crowds. But without more TSA officers on duty, options remain limited.