Atlanta Hartsfield International Airport has warned that it is also facing disruptions from extended wait times at TSA security checkpoints, as a partial federal government shutdown extends into its fourth week, with no signs of the dispute being resolved anytime soon.
On Monday morning, ATL was reporting security wait times of nearly an hour at some of its checkpoints, although delays can vary massively at different times of day and at different checkpoints.
The airport, consistently ranked as the busiest hub airport in the world, has been careful not to blame the shutdown for the delays, saying that some of the disruption was due to “residual impacts” from weather-related delays that first occurred on Friday.
Nonetheless, a spokesperson for Atlanta Hartsfield warned passengers to leave extra time to clear security, without giving any indication of when normal service might resume.
On Sunday, Houston Hobby and New Orleans airports saw huge lines of travelers snaking around their terminals due to delays at the TSA checkpoints.
The situation was so bad at Houston Hobby that the airport warned it could take passengers up to three hours to clear the TSA security checkpoint. Travelers have been advised to arrive at the airport up to five hours ahead of their scheduled departure time to ensure they don’t miss their flight.
In New Orleans, the line for TSA grew so long that it extended outside the terminal building and into the parking garage.
Those kinds of scenes haven’t yet been seen in Atlanta, but as the shutdown continues, there are fears that TSA staffing shortages could increase by the day, putting enormous pressure on the airport and travelers.
As lawmakers argue over a controversial appropriations package for the Department of Homeland Security, the Trump administration has been quick to pin the blame on Democrats, accusing them of laying siege on Spring Break.
“Americans are now enduring the severe fallout from the Democrat shutdown of DHS,” blasted Lauren Bis, the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs at DHS, after nasty scenes of long TSA security lines went viral on social media.
“Today, travelers are facing TSA lines of up to nearly 3 hours long at some major airports,” Bis continued. “These frontline heroes received only partial paychecks earlier this month and now face their first full missed paycheck, leading to financial hardship, absences, and crippling staffing shortages.”
There was hope that a deal could be struck to fund DHS following the firing of former Secretary Kristi Noem, but Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer and House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries have suggested that much wider reform is needed.
“They’ve made an affirmative decision that they would rather shut down FEMA, shut down the Coast Guard, and shut down TSA as opposed to getting ICE under control,” Jeffries told NBC’s Meet the Press on Sunday.
“What we want is a situation where ICE is actually conducting itself like every other law enforcement agency in the country, as opposed to using taxpayer dollars to brutalize or in some cases kill American citizens and to violently target law-abiding immigrant families,” Jeffries added.
