Harry Reid International Airport has seemingly avoided the headaches being experienced in other markets as the partial government shutdown hits 42 days.

Throughout the nation, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is managing some of the longest wait times in its history — more than four hours at some airport passenger checkpoints — while officers go unpaid, some miss work and hundreds have quit.

Clark County Aviation Department officials said that hasn't been the case in Las Vegas, where wait times were between four and eight minutes on Wednesday morning. Donations of ready-to-eat meals, grocery gift cards and necessary household supplies from the resort industry and other businesses have boosted the spirits of TSA agents and helped keep them on the job.

"This is part of the DNA that's within a hospitality industry and hospitality city that depends on travel and tourism," MGM Resorts International Senior Vice President John Flynn said in an interview on Wednesday. "There are genuine efforts that you're seeing across all of Southern Nevada because we recognize and appreciate the job they do.

"You contrast that with other cities across the country, and you see people commenting on social media how they had no issues in Las Vegas," Flynn said. 

On Thursday afternoon, President Donald Trump announced on social media that he would sign an executive order that the Homeland Security secretary immediately pay agents, saying he wanted to end "Chaos at the Airports."  Early Friday morning, the Senate unanimously agreed to fund the Department of Homeland Security, but without funding for immigration enforcement and deportation operations. 

The funding bill heads to the House for consideration.

The acting head of the TSA told a congressional committee Wednesday that nearly 500 officers nationwide have quit their jobs because of mounting financial hardships, given that they have gone without a paycheck for more than a month.

Wednesday morning at Terminal 1, the longest wait time was eight minutes for general check-in at the C/D gates entrance. The main C gate checkpoint — the primary access for Southwest Airlines, which services roughly 40 percent of the airport's passenger volume — was only four minutes.

That same day, national news coverage was flooded with images of lengthy airline passenger check-in lines stretching onto the streets at George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston.

At Wednesday's hearing in Washington, D.C., acting agency head Ha Nguyen McNeill said TSA may have to shut down operations at some airports if the budget impasse drags on. Unlike Las Vegas, McNeill told Congress that multiple airports were seeing days when 40 percent to 50 percent of the staff didn't report to work. 

Last week, agents from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) were sent to airports around the nation to assist TSA, but not in Las Vegas.

Clark County Director of Aviation James Chrisley said operations at Reid Airport have continued with minimal impacts from shutdowns, crediting the TSA agents who have continued to work without a salary.

"We are deeply grateful for their dedication and will continue to support them through our food and essentials pantry as long as it remains necessary," he said.

A Las Vegas TSA spokesperson did not respond to questions left by The Nevada Independent on a media email hotline being utilized by the agency during the shutdown. 

Another factor keeping wait times down at Reid Airport is passenger volume, which has declined for 13 straight months. On Wednesday, the Clark County Department of Aviation said the February passenger total was down 3.3 percent to 3.8 million, the lowest single-month passenger figure since February 2022.

International travel to and from Las Vegas, which has been on a downward slide for more than a year, fell 11 percent in February and is down 15 percent for the first two months of 2026.

Southwest Airlines grew passenger volume by 6 percent in February and is up 4 percent overall for the year. In a statement toYahoo Travel, a spokesman for Southwest Airlines said the air carrier "would rebook passengers who miss their flights because of long wait times without an additional charge."

Appreciation from TSA personnel

Several TSA agents, who did not want to give their names, told The Indy they appreciate support from the community. Only a few have resigned and found other jobs because of financial hardships and the uncertainty of how long the shutdown will last. The shutdown centered on the Department of Homeland Security because of a legislative deadlock over immigration enforcement policies.

"There is a real community aspect with the TSA team here because we are willing to work together and keep showing up for work," said one agent. "We know how important the mission to protect the airport is."

During last fall's government shutdown, employees from MGM Resorts made several trips to Reid Airport, dropping off 1,400 meals and personal care items to stock the airport's Food & Essentials Pantry that provides meals and other items to Las Vegas-based TSA agents and U.S. Customs and Border Protection personnel.

The company, which operates 10 Strip resorts, reinstituted the effort earlier this month, delivering 1,400 meals and some 700 personal hygiene kits. MGM employees also packed food for low-income families that went to Catholic Charities. The company was planning another drop-off later this week.

"You want a seamless travel experience for your customers," Flynn said. "You want them thinking positively about that airline experience. And, we want to keep our skies safe too. That's another very important reason to have the TSA employees on the job."

In a statement at the outset of the partial government shutdown, Chrisley said the airport had the fewest number of TSA employees not show up for work among the major U.S. airports. 

"Despite the challenges, our airport continued to operate smoothly and efficiently," Chrisley said.

Updated at 7:07 a.m. on 3/27/2026 to reflect the Senate vote.