Some airports report longer security lines as unpaid TSA agents call in sick over partial government shutdown
TSA reports slight nationwide uptick in unscheduled absences, but average security line wait times appear unaffected; Rick Leventhal reports from LaGuardia Airport.
The Transportation Security Administration says passenger wait times at airports across the country are not being significantly impacted, despite reports of employees calling out sick and passengers reporting “chaos” and “nightmare” crowds.
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“Nationwide, TSA screened approximately 2.22 million passengers yesterday (Sunday), a historically busy day due to holiday travel. 99.8 [percent] of travelers waited less than 30 minutes; 90.1 [percent] of passengers less than 15 minutes. In TSA [PreCheck] lanes, passengers on average waited less than five minutes,” the TSA posted in a statement on Twitter Monday just before 12 p.m.
“We are grateful to the more than 51,000 agents across the country who remain focused on the mission and are respectful to the traveling public as they continue the important work necessary to secure the nation’s transportation systems.”
The TSA’s announcement comes following a Friday CNN report that claimed hundreds of TSA workers were calling out sick and staging a “sickout” amid the government shutdown.
A spokesman for the Department of Homeland Security later dismissed the report as “fake news” and called the sickouts “non-existent.”
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CNN later defended its report, citing statements from “numerous TSA & union officials & cited data provided by unions.”
The TSA, in response, appeared to confirm that employee call-outs “have increased” following the holidays, but are only causing “minimal” impact.
"Call outs began over the Holiday period and have increased, but are causing minimal impact given there are 51,739 employees supporting the screening process," the tweet read. "TSA is grateful to the agents who show up to work, remain focused on the mission and respectful to the traveling public."
Passengers across the country also shared photos of what some were calling “nightmare” crowds and slightly “chaotic” situations at airports.
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A representative for the TSA was not immediately available to confirm if the wait times reported in Monday's tweet are longer than average. An emailed request for comment from Fox News was automatically returned, with the away message explaining that all "non-security-sensitive" employees for the TSA — including spokespeople — had been furloughed.