By David Shepardson
WASHINGTON, March 16 (Reuters) – The Trump administration said just over 10% of Transportation Security Administration airport security officers on Sunday did not show up for work as a partial government shutdown stretches to 30 days, showing no end in sight.
The standoff in Congress has forced 50,000 airport security officers to work without pay, disrupted travel at times and prompted CEOs of the nation’s largest airlines on Sunday to call for a quick end as spring break travel is in full swing.
Typically under 2% of TSA workers call in sick or do not report to work, the Homeland Security Department said. At Atlanta, New York JFK and Houston, the rates for not showing up for work have been about 20% since February 14 when funding expired.
DHS also said 366 TSA officers have left during the shutdown. On Sunday and Monday, absences spiked over 50% in Houston and over 30% in New Orleans and Atlanta and travelers have endured two-hour or longer lines at times.
The CEOs of major U.S. airlines urged Congress on Sunday to move quickly to end the standoff.
“Too many travelers are having to wait in extraordinarily long – and painfully slow – lines at checkpoints,” the CEOs of American Airlines, United Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Southwest Airlines, JetBlue Airways, Alaska Air, and others wrote.
The White House held a call on Monday with travel industry officials including Airlines for America CEO Chris Sununu as they push for and end to the standoff, government officials said. The group declined to comment.
Last fall, a 43-day government shutdown led to widespread flight disruptions and the FAA ordered a 10% flight cut at major airports. “Once again air travel is the political football amid another government shutdown,” the CEOs wrote.
Senators from both parties failed Thursday in competing efforts to fund the TSA.
DHS funding lapsed on February 13 after Congress failed to reach a deal on immigration enforcement reforms demanded by Democrats.
Airlines are expecting a record-breaking spring travel period, with 171 million passengers expected to fly, up 4% from the same two-month period last year.
Some airports have closed some security checkpoints and others are working to raise money to help TSA workers buy food or other essentials as they go without pay.
(Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Christopher Cushing and Stephen Coates)
