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Airline passengers are saying that Transportation Security Administration workers need to get paid. At Atlanta's mammoth airport, travelers are arriving up to four hours ahead of their flight departures. That is because they are worried about delays at security checkpoints. TSA officers haven't gotten a paycheck since the Department of Homeland Security partly shut down on Feb. 14. Staffing shortages have been forcing checkpoint closures at some airports. President Donald Trump says he will shift immigration officers into airport security. Homeland Security officials report rising absences, and hundreds of TSA officers have quit during the shutdown.

Air travelers are facing a new reality of higher fees, fewer flights and tough choices about whether a trip is worth the cost. The culprit is volatile oil and jet fuel prices that have been swinging since the war in the Middle East started and fighting near the Strait of Hormuz disrupted global oil shipments. Airlines around the world are responding by trimming schedules and raising fees and fares. Experts say budget carriers and the customers who rely on them will feel the pinch first, but even business travelers and front-cabin passengers won’t escape higher costs. Relief may not come quickly even if oil prices start to drop, experts warn, because airlines can take months to adjust fares while they wait for energy markets to stabilize.