US Edition
Where Will TSA Lines Be the Longest Tomorrow? During a Shutdown, Nobody Knows
TSA staff shortages from unpaid work amid a partial DHS shutdown have caused checkpoint closures and wait times exceeding three hours at major U.S. airports, officials said.
- On Thursday, airport security checkpoints face unpredictable delays as a partial government shutdown forces roughly 50,000 Transportation Security Administration screeners to work without pay, causing hours-long lines at major hubs like Houston.
- The Department of Homeland Security shutdown, now in its seventh week, has left TSA employees unable to afford basics like gas or childcare while continuing to report for work, prompting at least 366 resignations since Feb. 14.
- Traveler Sara Oberton endured three-hour waits at George Bush Intercontinental Airport on Thursday, reporting that even TSA PreCheck failed to bypass a single consolidated line. "It is pure insanity here in Houston," she said in a video.
- Travel expert Eric Rosen of The Points Guy warned that airlines are not required to assist passengers stranded by staffing woes, urging travelers to check airport social media feeds for real-time wait-time updates and arrive at least two hours early.
- With the shutdown nearing the end of its seventh week, experts warn that predicting security wait times remains a "guessing game" as daily staffing fluctuations threaten to disrupt travel throughout the upcoming summer season and World Cup events.
29 Articles
29 Articles
TSA union leader warns airport security risks will 'get worse' as major travel events loom
A top TSA union leader warned Thursday that airport security risks linked to the ongoing government shutdown are set to "get worse," pointing to a critical issue he says has largely gone unaddressed."TSA has been under a . . . hiring freeze since last year, so when you look at what we had in the fall, the 50 days that we had off of shutdown, we have people that left, that retired," TSA union leader George Borek told "Varney & Co.""The acting dir…
TSA screening chaos worsens as shutdown drags on
Will you really need to get to the airport three hours ahead of your flight? Will airport security be open in the terminal you're flying from? Will your airport even be open?Those are questions that few air travelers expected to be asking this year, but answering them has become an unfortunate reality this spring thanks to the partial government shutdown that's now nearing the end of its seventh week.And, increasingly, the effects of the shutdow…
TSA wait times are guessing game during shutdown
The wait times at airport security checkpoints have become a guessing game during the shutdown of a single U.S. government department, with the daily attendance of Transportation Security Administration officers determining whether lines move quickly or stretch far outside terminals. Travelers at Houston’s largest airport endured hours-long waits Thursday morning due to staffing issues, causing some to miss their flights or scramble to their gat…
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