Airport disruption across the United States is beginning to trigger a new wave of payment disputes, with Chargebacks911 warning that airlines and travel merchants could soon face a sharp rise in chargebacks linked to missed flights.
The dispute resolution and chargeback prevention specialist said passengers are increasingly being caught in severe airport delays as TSA security wait times stretch beyond four hours at major hubs. More than 480 officers have reportedly resigned since the partial government shutdown began, worsening staffing shortages and reducing screening capacity.
Around 50,000 TSA employees are currently working without pay, according to the company, while absenteeism has climbed significantly above normal levels. National absentee rates are above 10%, and at major airports have reportedly reached between 30% and 50%. In some locations, more than 40% of scheduled staff have called out, further straining checkpoint operations.
Monica Eaton, founder and chief executive of Chargebacks911, said major travel disruptions are often followed by a spike in payment disputes. She pointed to previous examples, including Covid-era cancellations, volcanic ash events and industrial action, arguing that when passengers miss flights through no fault of their own and see no clear route to compensation, many turn directly to their bank.
The central problem, she said, is uncertainty over liability. Airlines generally view security delays as outside their operational control, while passengers still expect reimbursement when their journeys are disrupted. Insurance policies, meanwhile, do not consistently cover such circumstances. That gap, Chargebacks911 said, often pushes consumers to file payment disputes with their card issuer instead.
The timing is particularly sensitive. Airlines for America expects 171 million passengers to travel between March and April, averaging 2.8 million people per day. At those volumes, even a relatively small increase in missed departures could translate into a sizeable rise in disputed card transactions.
Chargebacks911 also said the US airport disruption is part of a broader pattern of travel instability. It pointed to continuing air traffic control strikes in Europe, airspace restrictions affecting Middle East routes and ongoing strain across international travel networks. The UK Foreign Office has also issued travel warnings related to delays at US airports.
For travel merchants operating internationally, the overlap of multiple disruption events increases the risk of disputes even further. Eaton said ambiguity over responsibility is one of the main drivers of what the company describes as illegitimate chargebacks, as consumers often skip formal claims channels and go straight to their bank when no one takes clear ownership of the problem.
Chargebacks911 is urging airlines, online travel agencies and travel providers to review refund and cancellation policies, communicate proactively with affected customers and document all interactions carefully. The company said those that move quickly on all three fronts will be in a stronger position once dispute volumes begin to rise.
Its technology offering, including the Unified Dispute Management System and ResolveLab, uses artificial intelligence and machine learning to help merchants track emerging dispute patterns in real time and respond more effectively. By combining transaction data, customer records and dispute activity into a single view, the company says merchants can prioritise cases more efficiently, improve recovery rates and reduce manual workloads.
Eaton warned that the dispute spike is unlikely to happen immediately. Instead, it will build over days and weeks as passengers exhaust other attempts to recover their money. Businesses that begin monitoring data now and communicating clearly with customers, she said, will be far better placed than those waiting for formal dispute notices to arrive.
