Federal officials report that more than one in ten Transportation Security Administration workers were absent from their posts Sunday, as the partial government shutdown reaches its 30th day with no resolution in sight.
The ongoing political standoff has left 50,000 airport security personnel working without paychecks, creating travel delays and prompting executives from America’s biggest airlines to demand swift congressional action during the busy spring break travel season.
According to the Department of Homeland Security, TSA worker absences typically stay below 2%, but Sunday’s rate exceeded 10% nationwide. The situation has been particularly severe at major hubs including Atlanta, New York’s JFK, and Houston, where roughly 20% of staff have been missing since funding expired on February 14.
The department also reported that 366 TSA employees have quit their jobs entirely during the shutdown period. Weekend absences surged dramatically, with Houston seeing over 50% of workers absent, while New Orleans and Atlanta experienced absence rates above 30%, forcing travelers to endure security wait times of two hours or more.
In response to the mounting crisis, chief executives from the nation’s major carriers issued an urgent appeal to lawmakers Sunday.
“Too many travelers are having to wait in extraordinarily long – and painfully slow – lines at checkpoints,” stated the joint letter from leaders of American Airlines, United Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Southwest Airlines, JetBlue Airways, Alaska Air, and other major carriers.
White House officials convened a Monday conference call with travel industry representatives, including Airlines for America CEO Chris Sununu, as pressure mounts to resolve the impasse. The industry group chose not to provide public comment on the discussion.
The airline executives drew parallels to a previous 43-day shutdown last fall that caused widespread flight disruptions and forced the Federal Aviation Administration to mandate a 10% reduction in flights at major airports. “Once again air travel is the political football amid another government shutdown,” the CEOs stated in their letter.
Bipartisan efforts in the Senate fell short Thursday when competing proposals to restore TSA funding failed to gain sufficient support.
Department of Homeland Security funding expired February 13 after lawmakers couldn’t agree on immigration enforcement changes sought by Democratic legislators.
The timing couldn’t be worse for the aviation industry, which anticipates a record-setting spring travel season with 171 million passengers expected to fly – a 4% increase compared to the same period last year.
Some airports have been forced to shut down security checkpoints entirely, while others are organizing fundraising efforts to help unpaid TSA workers purchase food and basic necessities as they continue working without compensation.
