TSA delays at Bush Airport: Why Houston is Hardest hit

For more than a week, travelers flying across the U.S. have faced long lines at airport security, with queues stretching through terminals and even into parking lots. These delays stem from Transportation Security Administration officers calling out of work because of a partial U.S. government shutdown.

Nowhere have the effects been more severe than at Houston’s George Bush Intercontinental Airport, News.Az reports, citing The New York Times.

On Tuesday, some passengers waited more than four hours to get through security, and similar delays were expected on Wednesday.

The shutdown, which has now lasted 40 days, has hit TSA staffing especially hard during the busy spring break travel season. Hundreds of TSA officers have quit their jobs, and many more are absent because they are working without pay. At Bush Airport, about 40 % of security staff did not report for duty on Tuesday — the highest absence rate in the country.

Johnny Jones, secretary‑treasurer of the American Federation of Government Employees Council 100 — which represents around 4,500 TSA officers in Texas — said the staffing crisis is directly linked to missed pay. “It’s a lack‑of‑pay issue, 100 percent,” he said. “When you have 40 percent of your workforce not showing up, you’re in trouble.”

This is the second government shutdown since last October to affect TSA officers. Under current rules, TSA workers will not receive pay until Congress agrees on new funding for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the agency that oversees TSA. DHS funding has been held up because lawmakers have been unable to reach a deal on immigration policy as part of a larger budget package.

Jones said many TSA officers are still recovering financially from the previous shutdown, during which some incurred thousands of dollars in extra expenses because of late fees, bank charges, and interest on credit cards while they worked without regular pay.

News.Az 

By Nijat Babayev