WASHINGTON/NEW ORLEANS: Waiting times in security lines at some US airports extended to three hours on Sunday, as absences by Transportation Security Administration workers rose during a partial government shutdown and as spring-break travel increased.
Houston Hobby Airport at one point on Sunday reported lines averaging 3-1/2 hours, and at 6 p.m. (2300 GMT) the wait times averaged three hours.
Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport advised passengers on Sunday to arrive at least three hours before their scheduled departure and warned delays could continue the rest of the week.
“TSA is experiencing a shortage of workers at the security checkpoint, which is causing longer-than-average lines,” the airport said in a social media post.
Eliana Patterson, who was returning home to Boston, said security lines at the New Orleans airport snaked around the terminal and out an exit into a nearby parking lot. “My flight’s been delayed but if it hadn’t been I’d be a little worried.”
