It was a perfect, utterly confusing storm on Sunday, as travelers woke up to a double whammy: an onslaught of blizzard-related flight delays and cancellations as a northeaster barreled toward the East Coast, combined with conflicting messages from the Department of Homeland Security. DHS had issued a statement Sunday morning that it would pause TSA PreCheck and Global Entry due to the partial government shutdown.
TSA PreCheck remains operational
But as it turns out, TSA PreCheck, the popular expediting screening service for Transportation Security Administration security lines, will remain up and running—for now.
“At this time, TSA PreCheck remains operational with no change for the traveling public,” a TSA spokesperson said in a statement sent to Afar. “As staffing constraints arise, TSA will evaluate on a case-by-case basis and adjust operations accordingly.”
The message came hours after numerous news outlets had reported that a DHS statement said the department would pause TSA PreCheck and Global Entry services effective Sunday morning.
Global Entry currently paused
But before the day was done, DHS had issued a press release outlining the changes—namely, that while TSA PreCheck would continue as normal, Global Entry would be paused “to preserve limited funds and personnel.”
Effective 6 a.m. on February 22, 2026, “Global Entry was shut down,” a U.S. Customs and Border Protection spokesperson said in a statement sent to Afar. “Until funding for the department is restored, CBP officers are currently unpaid but continue to focus on preventing potential security risks from those entering the country.”
According to the release, Global Entry members arriving at U.S. airports should proceed to the appropriate regular CBP processing lanes for U.S. citizens, lawful permanent residents, or visitors.
Major East Coast storm hits during partial government shutdown
In the meantime, flights out of the East Coast experienced extremely high rates of cancellations on Sunday due to a severe winter storm. On Sunday, New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) canceled 47 percent of flights, LaGuardia Airport (LGA) canceled 46 percent of flights, and Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) canceled 32 percent, according to aviation analytics firm Cirium.
For Monday, those numbers are up even higher, with 98 percent of flights canceled at Boston Logan International Airport (BOS), 97 percent of flights canceled at JFK, 96 percent of flights canceled at LGA, and 87 percent of flights canceled at both Newark and Philadelphia International Airport (PHL), according to Cirium.
“There are increasing cancellations now for Tuesday, particularly from the main airports in the Northeast,” Cirium noted in its recent report.
The latest on the 2026 partial government shutdown
The confusing announcements—amid an already hectic time for travelers working to navigate the storm-related disruptions—bring to light another concern, which is that travelers and the travel experience are being used as political leverage during the partial government shutdown, according to travel industry groups.
For a little more than one week, since Saturday, February 14, lawmakers have been at an impasse over funding for DHS, which oversees agencies that include TSA, CBP, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the U.S. Coast Guard, and the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The biggest sticking point has been how and whether to fund ICE, with Democrats calling for a reining in of ICE actions and greater oversight.
It is unclear how long the standstill and related partial government shutdown will persist. In the fall, the government was shutdown for a record 43 days, from October 1 through November 12, 2025, during which time the Federal Aviation Administration ordered airlines to reduce flights at 40 of the country’s busiest airports, citing severe staffing shortages among air traffic controllers, who had been begun calling out sick or walking off the job; they had gone largely without pay throughout the prolonged shutdown.
The move had ripple effects across the country, grounding thousands of flights and delaying thousands more.
Now, once more, travel is being used to put pressure on both sides of the aisle, industry organizations argue.
“The traveling public will be, once again, used as a political football amid another government shutdown,” Chris Sununu, president and CEO of Airlines for America, which represents all of the country’s major airlines, said in a statement on Sunday.
The U.S. Travel Association, which represents the country’s inbound tourism market, said that it welcomed the decision to keep TSA PreCheck lanes running at U.S. airports “even as TSA officers continue to work without pay amid the partial government shutdown.” The organization is hoping to see the same reversal of course for Global Entry.
“Travelers should be prioritized, not leveraged,” Geoff Freeman, president and CEO of the U.S. Travel Association, said in a statement. “Travel is the gateway to the American economy, and Americans should not have their mobility, security, or travel experience diminished because elected leaders fail to resolve their differences.”
This story was initially published on February 22, 2026, and was updated on February 23, 2026, to include current information.
