Footage from Friday morning showed long lines as Transportation Security Administration officials missed payment during the Homeland Security shutdown. (Credit: KXAN)
Security lines at the Austin airport stretched out the door Friday morning as passengers waited hours to board their flights amid pressure for Congressional lawmakers to reach a deal to reopen the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
Video footage posted online shows Transportation Security Administration (TSA) lines at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport outside at least one building.
“Due to the Democrats’ reckless shutdown, security lines at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport are expanding,” DHS told X. “Democrats’ political games are making spring travel a NIGHTMARE as they continue to withhold funding for DHS and refuse to pay our @TSA officers.”
AIRLINES CANCEL FLIGHTS, CANCEL CONNECTIONS WITHIN THE EAST
TSA lines at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport were noticeably longer during the DHS shutdown. (KXAN / Unknown)
DHS saw its funding end last month, with a direct impact on TSA employees, underpaid workers, and the traveling public.
Extended lines at the airport began around 5 a.m. local time, but were cleared about two hours later, the airport said.
In the morning, the airport posted videos of checkpoints that appeared to be empty and some with few passengers.
The airport warned passengers departing on Saturday to arrive at least 2.5 hours before their flight during what is expected to be a busy day. The busiest time will be between 4am and 8am, it said.
Growing lines at airports across the country have put pressure on lawmakers to reach a deal to fund DHS as members of both parties continue to hear complaints from their constituents.
Travelers wait in line for security at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport. On Friday, security lines stretched the door as the debate over reopening the Department of Homeland Security continued in Washington. (Aaron E. Martinez/The Austin American-Statesman via Getty Images)
More than 300 TSA agents have quit their jobs since the DHS shutdown began and callouts are nearly double the normal rate, a TSA spokesperson told FOX Business.
“Today, 100,000 DHS employees will not be paid, losing their first paycheck due to the Democratic DHS shutdown. This amounts to $1 BILLION in unpaid wages each month,” the spokesperson said in a statement. “TSA workers have been forced to work without pay three times in six months because of the Democrats’ reckless shutdown.”
Wait times in security lines will get worse as the shutdown continues, the spokesman said, while accusing Democrats of playing politics.
The funding shortfall stems from political disagreements over Democrats’ demands to reform US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) amid the Trump administration’s impeachment campaign.
“We are in discussions. However, we are not close,” said Sen. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, sometimes. “You might think that this is an issue that we think we’re going to turn to politics, but I promise you, when we saw Renee Good and Alex Pretti killed, this was more than a political issue.”
Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., discusses public opinion on the Middle East conflict and the DHS funding battle on ‘Kudlow.’
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Meanwhile, some Republicans have said they will oppose changes to ICE that Democrats have sought.
“Let me be clear, there is nothing we will do – nothing – that affects ICE’s ability to enforce our immigration laws,” said Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Mo.
I TSA website and app scheduled performance on Feb. 17. The site “will not be updated until after the funds are released,” the TSA says on its site — leaving travelers high and dry when it comes to finding wait time information.
“Today, tens of thousands of TSA employees received blank checks. Zero dollars,” Airlines for America President and CEO Chris Sununu said in a statement Friday. “Two weeks ago, these same TSA workers got paychecks. Last fall, they had to go 43 days without pay.
“This failure of the government to pay the airline workers is wrong. It is wrong,” added Sununu, the former governor of New Hampshire. “And it’s a shame that Congress can’t reach agreement or act on the bipartisan workable solutions that have already been presented.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
