TSA chaos worsens at Houston airport

Houston's biggest airport is in for another day of travel chaos with no end in sight to the government shutdown that is causing Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officers to call off work. Travelers at George Bush Intercontinental Airport were warned Thursday that wait times could last more than four hours. The delays stem from a congressional deadlock over funding for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which oversees TSA. About 50,000 TSA workers have been working without pay since February 14. Approximately 460 officers had quit as of Tuesday.

Bush Airport has struggled more than most airports, experiencing one of the highest callout rates in the nation. Some days have seen nearly 40 percent of TSA workers absent . Passenger traffic is also very high, given that the airport serves as a major hub for United Airlines. Airport officials have warned that travelers could continue to face severe disruptions going forward. Thursday marked the 41st day of the shutdown . 'We worry conditions will only get worse at airports across the US until Congress ends this shutdown,' Jim Szczesniak, the director of aviation for the Houston Airport System, told CNN.

As of Thursday, Bush Airport had limited TSA screening to Terminals A and E. TSA PreCheck and CLEAR services were also made unavailable due to the staff shortages, adding time to the delays. Lines could get so long that they might stretch outside the airport, officials said. Some travelers said the massive waiting time had caused them to miss their flight. 'I should have just driven, right?' Melissa Gates, who was flying to Baton Rouge, Louisiana, told the Associated Press. Gates had been waiting for more than two and a half hours and still had not reached the TSA checkpoint.

'You don't experience this in a lot of other countries and I just feel like it's unacceptable,' Eche Emole, another traveler at Bush Airport, said. Emole was trying to fly out to Mexico and said the hours-long line 'should not be happening.' Usually, Bush Airport operates with 37 TSA checkpoint lanes but just one-third to one-half are currently in use. The airport has warned travelers to not use 'any "for-hire" line-standing services.' 'For your security, passengers should not pay individuals offering to hold their place in line, as they are not authorized and have not been vetted,' it said.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents have been spotted at the Houston airport this week after President Donald Trump deployed them to help with staffing shortages. ICE agents are helping to verify passengers' identities using TSA equipment and helping with crowd control, according to the DHS. 'The more support we have available, the more efficiently TSA can focus on their highly specialized screening roles to efficiently get airport security lines moving faster,' Lauren Bis, the DHS acting assistant secretary, said. Wednesday was a relatively lighter day with wait times around two hours, though the middle of the week typically sees less travel.

But Thursday and Friday are expected to be much busier, as Houston hosts the NCAA men's basketball tournament and the global CERAWeek energy conference, which draws more than 10,000 participants. An additional 50 officers from TSA's national officers have been sent to Houston, it was announced Thursday. However, about 40 of those officers will instead go to the city's smaller airport Houston Hobby, according to The New York Times . That airport has also dealt with travel chaos, including a call-out rate of 43 percent on Tuesday. Airports across the entire country have been grappling with the massive delays caused by the partial government shutdown.

The world's busiest airport, Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport in Atlanta, saw lines stretching outside the airport as early as 5am. Atlanta's airport no longer showed a wait time estimate, instead simply urging travelers to 'allow at least 4 hours or more.' About 41 percent of TSA workers called out at Hartsfield Jackson yesterday. John F. Kennedy International Airport and LaGuardia Airport in New York, as well as Newark Liberty International Airport in neighboring New Jersey, also removed estimates. At JFK, lines also extended outside the airport, with travelers reporting waits of about two and a half hours.

Massive queues formed at LaGuardia as early as 3am, with some travelers having to wait at least three hours. Other airports affected include Denver International, currently experiencing about a 24-minute delay, and Dallas-Fort Worth, at about 18 minutes. TSA operations at some airports may soon be forced to shut down unless congressional lawmakers reach a solution. Democrats want changes to federal immigration enforcement, which Republicans have not agreed to.

'This is a dire situation,' Ha Nguyen McNeill, the TSA deputy administrator, said Wednesday at a House hearing. 'We are facing a potential, perfect storm of severe staffing shortages and an influx of millions of passengers at our airports in less than 80 days.' McNeill added that TSA did not have 'the luxury of time,' as any TSA hires would not be ready to work in time for the FIFA World Cup this summer, for instance. Certifying new officers takes four-to-six months, and the global sporting event starts June 11. The Daily Mail has reached out to the DHS for further comment on the shutdown and the airport delays.