Some US airports may have to be closed as passengers reportedly have to wait longer due to safety reasons as 50,000 employees have not received salaries due to the shutdown.
The claim came from the acting head of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), who told a committee that this was a “serious situation” that should never be allowed to happen again.
Ha Nguyen McNeil said about 500 TSA employees — who screen passengers and luggage — have already walked off the job after not receiving pay since mid-February.
He said many major airports were seeing 40% to 50% call-out rates (a measure of absenteeism), compared to an average of 4% in general, because employees “simply can’t afford to report to work”.
He further said, “Many airports are having days when 40-50% of their employees are taking leave from work because they cannot afford to come to work.
“This has led to the highest wait times in TSA history, with some wait times exceeding 4.5 hours.”
No solution appears to be in sight in the near future as Democrats and Republicans still cannot agree on a deal on funding the Department of Homeland Security, the agency that includes the TSA.
Democrats want changes to immigration and deportation operations after this The controversial killings of two people in Minneapolis earlier this year By Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers.
ICE agents have been dispatched to some airports by trump The administration called for what Ms. McNeil called a “non-specific screening function,” but opponents say the move is inflammatory.
White House spokeswoman Carolyn Leavitt said they are helping reduce wait times — though “not as much as we would like.”
Meanwhile, many TSA workers are being pushed to the brink, and resorting to desperate measures.
“Some (employees) are sleeping in their cars, selling their blood and plasma, and working second jobs to make ends meet, when they are expected to perform at the highest level in uniform to protect the traveling public,” Ms. McNeil told the House Homeland Security Committee.
Assaults have also increased by 500% since the shutdown began in mid-February, he said, as some passengers take out their frustrations on staff.
Ha Nguyen McNeil testified before the Homeland Security Committee on Wednesday. Photo: Reuters
Houston airport bosses have warned that security waits of up to four hours – which have caused queues on multiple floors – could get longer if a deal is not reached soon.
In a video on the airport’s website, Jim Szczesniak said staff working in areas such as IT, finance and maintenance have been redeployed to manage the lines. However, he warned that this is not sustainable.
new york LaGuardia was another airport that saw long lines Wednesday afternoon, with lines of people stretching almost the entire length of Terminal B.
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The TSA boss also agreed during his committee appearance that there could be problems when fans arrive world cup In June.
Ms McNeil said it took four to six months to train new staff, and said job applications had dropped significantly, raising questions about replacing those leaving.
Meanwhile, the White House has rejected Elon Musk’s proposal to pay TSA salaries during the shutdown, according to CBS News.
The richest man in the world made an offer on Christmas over the weekend.
