Travellers face ‘unusually’ long wait times amid US disruptions
Travellers across the US are facing unusually long lines at airports, with some of the worst delays reported in Houston, where security wait times have stretched beyond four hours amid a partial government shutdown.
Hundreds of Transportation Security Administration (TSA) agents continue to miss paychecks and call out of work, leaving large gaps in airports’ abilities to screen passengers.
But nearly 40p er cent of the security staff at the George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston did not show up for work – the highest such rate in the country, US media report.
Officials fear that conditions “will only get worse at airports across the US until Congress ends this shutdown”.
Houston’s airport is operating just one-third to 50 per cent of its TSA checkpoints, said Jim Szczesniak, director of aviation for the Houston Airport System.
“That’s 100 per cent spring break loads going through the airport, being processed through less than 50 per cent of our TSA lanes,” he noted referring to the spring break travel season. “That is not sustainable.”
A flurry of sporting events – all this weekend – in Houston may bring more passengers to the airport, further clogging lines. The Astros’ season opener is scheduled for this weekend along with a golf open and a pair of NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 matchups.
Ahead of that, the TSA plans to deploy at least two dozen officers from its National Deployment Office to the Bush airport on Thursday, the Houston mayor’s office told media partner CBS News.
On Monday, the Trump administration said hundreds of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents had been sent to 14 airports in cities including New York, Atlanta and Houston to help fill the void.
US President Donald Trump touted the success of the move on Wednesday, saying they’re doing “an unbelievable job” at airports. He indicated he would also send the National Guard “if we need to” in order to assist TSA and ICE. He blamed Democrats for the worker shortages, saying they “don’t want to pay” the agents.
Democrats in Congress have refused to fund the Department of Homeland Security without new limits on immigration agents, following public outrage over the shooting death of the two US citizens in Minneapolis.
Republicans have rejected Democratic proposals to fund TSA amid ongoing negotiations over ICE reforms.
There is little sign that the funding standoff is close to being resolved.
Billionaire Elon Musk offered to fund pay for TSA workers during the partial shutdown but the White House rejected the offer on Wednesday, several sources told CBS News.
A top TSA official said on Wednesday that more than 450 TSA workers have quit since the partial shutdown began. (BBC)
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