After almost six weeks of partial government shutdowns that have caused record-high security line wait times at airports across the country during peak spring break season, travelers should still keep in mind that it could take a few weeks or potentially over a month for lines to return to normal.
A Transportation Security Administration officer at the Indianapolis International Airport told HuffPost that even though the Senate passed funding for parts of Homeland Security on Friday morning, and the House is expected to vote on it as soon as Friday, affected airports will not immediately revert to normal until TSA officers see their paychecks. The TSA officer asked to remain anonymous to ensure their management did not know they were speaking to the press.
“Most people who can’t come in, [it’s] probably for financial reasons, and it wouldn’t change until money is in the account,” the agent said, referring to TSA agents. “Some unlucky folks may fight tooth and nail to get their paycheck, as I know two officers [who] never got their back pay from the 43-day shutdown.”
Another TSA agent at Raleigh-Durham International Airport, who also asked to remain unnamed, emphasized that the timing depends entirely on their paychecks.
