BySuzanne Rowan Kelleher,
Forbes Staff.
Air travelers at Houston’s George Bush Intercontinental Airport faced three-hour wait times Sunday and Monday due to a shortage of Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officers—while airport security screeners told Forbes the agency’s “scare tactics” to clamp down on sick calls and approved leave during the government shutdown would backfire.
On Monday, the TSA line snaked outside the terminal as travelers faced three-hour wait times for the second consecutive day.
A shortage of TSA screeners at Bush airport Sunday evening meant only two of its five terminals had security checkpoints open, prompting a warning that wait times “may exceed three hours,” while Houston’s William P. Hobby airport warned of TSA wait times exceeding 60 minutes.
