Hours-Long Waits at Airports Around the Country
Traveling through U.S. airports is getting more and more painful in recent weeks and days as passengers come across shuttered security checkpoints and long wait times that are even extending outside the terminals.
The partial government shutdown entered its fifth week and 50,000 Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officers have been working without pay since Feb. 14. They missed their first full paycheck Friday after receiving only a partial paycheck two weeks ago. Hundreds of TSAA officers have already quit.
Wait times to get through TSA checks at George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston reached two hours on Monday. It was 70+ minutes on Monday morning at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International airport and LaGuardia Airport, in New York.
Airports in Houston saw a more than 50% call out rate among TSA employees on Sunday. Meanwhile, more than 30% of TSA employees at the New Orleans and Atlanta airports called out on Sunday and Monday. Before the shutdown, the average callout rate was less than 2%, the DHS said. That has more than tripled to a nationwide average of 6%. There was also bad weather that exacerbated the TSA issues.
Airlines and airports are advising people to arrive 2-3 hours ahead so they don’t miss their flights. Today things are a bit better with Orlando International Airport in Florida and Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey having the longest wait times at around 40+ minutes.
TSA Precheck and Global Entry are both operating, as well as Mobile Passport Control. Hopefully those will help you get through security lines a bit faster. But it looks like these issues will continue as Congress is nowhere close to reaching a deal to end the shutdown.
Have you been traveling in recent days? Leave a comment and share your experience!
