Flying in America is about to get more expensive and less fun

Major airlines and millions of U.S. travelers are facing a rare set of challenges this spring are making it more costly and less convenient to fly.

Major airlines and millions of travelers across the United States face a rare convergence of challenges this spring that together are making it both costlier and less convenient to fly.

The Department of Homeland Security’s partial shutdown has created staffing shortages at domestic airport security checkpoints. Meanwhile, the Iran war has driven up jet fuel costs and forced many global carriers to reroute or suspend flights over the Middle East.

In America, the busiest spring break week of the year kicked off Sunday, just days after tens of thousands of Transportation Security Administration workers who conduct airport screenings missed their first full paychecks of the DHS shutdown — with no end in sight for the funding lapse.

Federal airport security workers are considered “essential employees” during government shutdowns, so they are required to report to work even if they’re not being paid.

Passengers wait in long lines to get through TSA security screening at William P. Hobby Airport in Houston on Sunday.Brett Coomer / Houston Chronicle via APMore than 300 TSA workers have quit since the partial government shutdown began Feb. 14, the agency announced. At the same time, the number of employees calling out sick has more than doubled at several major airports, a senior TSA official confirmed.