Airport security wait times eased slightly as Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers began assisting with screening at major airports amid the ongoing partial government shutdown, but some cities are bracing for another influx of weekend travelers.
Travel at airports across the country got off to a chaotic start to the week as wait times hit the highest level in history. Estimated wait times for TSA security lines appeared to shrink midweek in cities, including Atlanta, New Orleans and Houston. But Fridays, Mondays and the weekend see more travelers than midweek days, and some airports are expecting longer lines.
"While passenger volumes briefly declined on Wednesday, resulting in shorter wait times, significantly higher passenger traffic is expected on Thursday and Friday," airport officials in Houston said in a statement.
How long is TSA wait time at my airport? Here's how to check
ICE officers were deployed to more than a dozen airports to ease disruptions as Transportation Security Administration worker absences soared due to a lapse in Department of Homeland Security funding.
