Airport security is unraveling at some US airports as TSA agents call out en masse — but officials say it could get even worse.
Adam Stahl, the acting deputy administrator of the Transportation Security Administration, said on Fox News on Tuesday that some airports may close as the partial shutdown drags into its 5th week.
“Frankly, there’s not much else we can do,” he said. “As the weeks continue, if this continues, it’s not hyperbole to suggest that we may have to quite literally shut down airports, particularly smaller ones.”
Stahl added that the National Deployment Office, which has sent relief staff to airports to help overwhelmed agents, is “fully depleted.”
It’s unclear which airports would close, how that decision would be made, and whether TSA staff at those airports would stay home or be deployed to busier locations.
The more than 50,000 agents who screen passengers and luggage at roughly 450 airports across the country have received only one partial payment since DHS funding lapsed on February 14.
Smaller airports typically handle fewer flights and have less connecting traffic than larger hubs, but even limited closures would ripple across the system — adding costs and time for both travelers and airlines.
The possibility of airport closures comes on top of an already extremely busy spring break travel period. The US Travel Association estimates a record 171 million people will fly in the US in March and April.
Still, the chaos seems random so far. This author flew through Las Vegas and Los Angeles over the weekend and saw short lines; other major airports like Miami and Boston haven’t felt much impact either.
The TSA did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.
TSA agents, deemed “essential” employees and working without pay during the shutdown, received their first $0 paycheck over the weekend.
In a joint letter on Sunday, airline CEOs from carriers like Delta, Southwest, and FedEx urged Congress to pass legislation protecting TSA, customs, and air traffic control workers from being affected by government shutdowns.
Roughly 21% of the security staff at Atlanta — the world’s busiest airport by passenger traffic — as well as at New York-JFK and Houston Hobby Airport have called out in recent weeks, the Department of Homeland Security said.
That has led to checkpoint wait times exceeding 3 hours, with lines snaking out the doors, into parking garages, and onto airport sidewalks. The average nationwide call-out rate before the shutdown was less than 2%, per the DHS.
That has more than doubled since the shutdown began. The agency added that 366 transportation security officers have left the TSA between the start of the shutdown and Monday.
“These numbers illustrate the severe operational strain caused by the shutdown, underscoring the urgent need for resolution to restore stability, morale, and security at America’s airports,” the DHS said in a statement. “TSA funding must be restored immediately.”
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