DHS shutdowns are strangling Philadelphia International, triggering lengthy TSA delays. Massive security lines threaten to derail travel plans as the escalating crisis freezes the airport in its tracks.

While TSA officers on the front lines of airports across the nation continue to miss their paychecks, chaos is gripping some U.S. airports.

Footage from the Philadelphia International Airport, shot early Thursday morning, shows hundreds of passengers waiting on elevators and escalators to get through a security check point.

The airport announced it was temporarily closing three security checkpoints "to help optimize operations across other checkpoints," starting Wednesday.

TSA WARNS OF SECURITY 'THREAT' AS AIRPORT CHECKPOINT CLOSURES TRIGGER MORE TRAVEL DELAYS

The Philadelphia International Airport has a total of six main checkpoints — now with just half of those points open and operating.

The Philadelphia International Airport has temporarily closed three security checkpoints. Pictured above, the scene on Thursday morning at the airport. (FOX 29)

An airport spokesperson told Fox News Digital that airport staff were on hand to direct flight passengers through the lines.

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"The longest wait time was 44 minutes at our D/E checkpoint, which opens at 3 A.M., the first checkpoint to open," said the spokesperson.

An airport spokesperson told Fox News Digital that airport staff were on hand to direct flight passengers through the lines. (FOX 29)

TSA wait times are posted on the Philadelphia International Airport’s website.

As of 9 a.m., the longest wait time was at the airport's Terminal B checkpoint, at 20 minutes — which the spokesperson said was "not unusual for this time of day."

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The spokesperson added that the closure of three checkpoints was "due to TSA staffing constraints caused by the partial government shutdown."

Acting Deputy TSA Administrator Adam Stahl told Fox News Digital this week that as the shutdown drags on, the TSA faces the risk of losing even more officers.

Over 360 TSA officers have quit their jobs so far during this shutdown, while there was a national callout rate of 10.19% on Sunday. (Mark Felix/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

"The reality is [that] as this continues, as our officers continue not to receive a paycheck, it just stretches into weeks … [and] rates [of callouts] are going to continue to go up," said Stahl. 

"We're going to have individuals that can't afford to go into work and individuals quit, possibly altogether."

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So far, 366 TSA officers have quit during the shutdown, while there was a national callout rate of 10.19% on Sunday, a TSA spokesperson told Fox News Digital this week.

"We’re determining [airport and security line closures] based on staffing, but we have federal security directors on the ground who are experts in their particular airport, the configuration, demographic, and travel and patterns tied to that [respective] airport," he also said.

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Khloe Quill of Fox News Digital contributed reporting. 

Ashley J. DiMella is a lifestyle reporter with Fox News Digital. 

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