As Funding Deal Dissolves, the TSA Situation Could Get Worse Before It Gets Better

Flying anywhere anytime soon? Hopefully not. With a partial government shutdown now surpassing 43 days, unpaid Transportation Security Administration (TSA) workers are calling out of work or resigning from the job altogether. In some airports, the problems have been more dramatic than in others.

• Airports like Houston’s George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH) have reported six-hour waits, with a short-staffed TSA only able to operate two of its eight security checkpoints.
• Other airports in Atlanta (ATL), New York (JFK), and New Orleans (MSY) have also seen waits stretch past an hour — even as many airports nationwide are still seeing average wait times.

But it might get worse: President Trump has indicated he will somehow pay TSA workers through executive order — how? That’s unknown, but the onus remains on Congress to fund the TSA. If they don’t, what we’re seeing now might only be the beginning. As more time passes and more paychecks go undelivered, the US risks even longer airport waits across the country — and worse, everybody might just quit.