Small airports face closure risk amid ongoing TSA staffing shortages
Airline passengers waiting in line at a TSA security checkpoint
On Thursday, U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy warned that several small and regional airports across the U.S. are facing possible closure tied to staffing shortages within the Transportation Security Administration (TSA).
What they're saying:
Speaking to CNBC this week, Duffy spoke on the impact of smaller airports and workers who are set to miss another payment.
"As we get into next week and they are about to miss another payment, this is going to look like child's play, what's happening right now," Duffy said. "You're going to see small airports, I believe, shut down. You're going to see extensive lines."
TSA agents are still not getting paid
The backstory:
The ongoing partial government shutdown has impacted operations by the TSA. Agents have gone without pay since the shutdown began. However, workers are still required to work.
The Department of Homeland Security says hundreds of workers have resigned or taken unscheduled leave, leading to longer wait times at airports.
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By the numbers:
Nearly 50,000 airport security officers have gone without pay. According to Homeland Security, 366 TSA agents have left during the shutdown. Since Sunday, about 10% of TSA personnel have failed to show up for work. The agency says 25% of the workers at New York’s JFK and San Juan, Puerto Rico were reported out, while 38% at Atlanta and Houston Bush.
Last fall, a similar 43-day shutdown led to the reduction of flights by 10% at some major airports.
RELATED: TSA security lines: Why some airports are moving passengers through faster
Timeline:
Last month, congress failed to reach a deal on immigration enforcement reforms which led to this DHS funding collapse. The two sides attempted to reach a resolution on Thursday but were unable to come to an agreement.
TSA officers are set to miss another full paycheck on March 27.
The Source: This story was written with information provided by Reuters. This story was reported from Orlando.