Long lines, unpaid TSA employees: experts say the US air travel system is in crisis. travel news

For more than a month, US Transportation Security Administration (TSA) employees, tasked with screening the millions of people passing through airports across the United States every day, have not been paid.

The result was seen in videos spread on social media that showed frustrated travellers waiting in long lines at some of the nation’s busiest airports, where hundreds of TSA employees have walked off the job or refused to come to work.

Hours of delays have created a crisis at airports, and a lack of pay has led to low morale among agency employees, resulting in a partial government shutdown that has affected the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which oversees TSA.

Donald Trump’s administration has deployed federal agents from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) at airports across the country to fill the gap. That move has drawn criticism given the lack of relevant training and record of aggressive methods.

The delays also come at a time when the US-Israel war over Iran has created additional complications in terms of international travel, from cancelled or rerouted flights to rising energy prices and concerns over security.

Overall, analysts warned that the situation created an image of systemic dysfunction and called into question the safety and reliability of the country’s air travel system.

“For years we’ve boasted about how the United States has the best and safest aviation system in the world,” said William McGee, a researcher and consumer advocate at the American Economic Liberties Project.

“I’m not sure we get to say something like that anymore.”

tired workforce

More than 450 TSA employees have walked off the job since the partial shutdown began on February 14, according to a CNN report citing Lauren Biss, acting assistant secretary for public affairs at DHS.

Call-out rates have also increased from an average of about two per cent before the shutdown to about 10 per cent last week. TSA did not respond to a request for updated data.

Frustration among TSA employees is compounded by the fact that many went without pay even during the previous government shutdown during contentious budget negotiations in October and November, the longest in history.

Everett Kelly, president of the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), the labour union representing workers at many government agencies, including the TSA, says growing burnout is a natural response to the professional and financial instability they experience.

“Across the country, TSA officers are once again being asked to come to work without a pay cheque. They have families, mortgages, and bills, just like everyone else,” Kelly said in a statement emailed to Al Jazeera.

Statistics on call-outs also do not tell the whole story, with some airports operating normally while others experience chaotic delays and high rates. Major airports in cities like New York, Atlanta and Houston have seen rates nearly 30 per cent or more.

With conditions at each airport being variable and difficult to predict, McGee compared delays to a game of “whack-a-mole” that may occur at one location, while they could easily occur at another.

“The main thing is that, if you have to travel now, you have to reach the airport much earlier,” he said.

Social media users have shared stories of missing their flights despite reaching the airport with ample time in advance and waiting in line for several hours.

A spokesperson for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which oversees operations at major airports such as John F. Kennedy International and Newark International, told Al Jazeera in a statement that although the Port Authority does not rely on federal funding for operations, employees of federal agencies such as TSA still do.

“Over the past several days, we have begun to see longer wait times at security checkpoints during certain periods depending on the number of travellers, TSA shift changes and staff breaks, and the number of TSA staff reporting for work each shift,” the statement said.

political deadlock

The situation is the result of a political impasse over continued funding for DHS, which was set aside during previous shutdowns for separate negotiations over immigration enforcement agencies like ICE and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP). The standoff comes amid persistent calls from activists and Democratic lawmakers to rein in immigration agencies, spurred by the high-profile killings of US citizens such as Renee Good and Alex Pretty by federal agents during a crackdown in Minnesota in January.

The Trump administration’s mass deportation raids have led to widespread public outrage over aggressive methods and what rights groups say are routine civil liberties violations, leading to calls to rein in the agencies and implement reforms.

But in order to pass a funding bill to reopen the government in November, both parties agreed to negotiate on DHS funding at a later date. The current partial shutdown stems from a standoff that began on February 14 when funding ran out.

Several Democratic bills to fund TSA while pursuing a larger compromise at DHS have failed to pass, with both parties blaming each other for the chaos at airports across the country.

“Democrats have offered to fully fund the TSA’s salaries,

Democratic Senator Sheldon Whitehouse recently stated on social media, “Democrats have offered to fully fund the TSA’s salaries, without any conditions.” “It’s the Republicans who keep blocking it.”

“Democrats are holding American travellers hostage and depriving federal workers of their pay cheques for political gain,” the White House social media account said in a post Friday, sharing video of long lines at an airport.

Media reports on Tuesday said the US Senate is moving toward advancing a bill that would defund much of DHS, including the TSA, to address the ongoing travel chaos, as a deal focused on ICE reforms would be worked out later.

McGee says the situation has created a feeling of general dysfunction.

“The United States has waged war against Iran and because of that, security concerns have increased. He said, “In that environment, it’s kind of shocking that TSA isn’t getting paid.”

“On top of that, you have flight changes, logistics concerns and rising energy costs,” he said. “It’s all very messed up right now.”