Are you going on vacation for Spring Break? Be prepared to face long lines. Travelers are scrambling after airports experienced the effects of a partial government shutdown.
These airports included Houston's William P. Hobby Airport and Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport. Travelers faced longer-than-expected wait times at Transportation Security Administration checkpoints. This left many stressed about making their flights. At Hobby Airport, the TSA lines were more than three hours long.
"TSA is experiencing a shortage of workers at the security checkpoint, which is causing longer-than-average lines," the airport said in a social media post. The line reportedly stretched outside the building. Traveler Eliana Patterson detailed the long lines. She almost missed her flight. She explained, "My flight's been delayed, but if it hadn't been I'd be a little worried."
Spring Break Travel
Other airports experiencing similar lines include George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston, Charlotte Douglas International Airport in North Carolina, and Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. This comes due to a partial shutdown of Homeland Security.
"Travelers are facing TSA lines of up to nearly three hours long at some major airports, causing missed flights and massive delays during peak travel," DHS said in a statement.
This comes during one of the busiest periods with 171 million people flying.
"The shutdown is having very real consequences, and hardworking federal aviation workers, the airline industry and our passengers are being used as a political football once again. This is simply unacceptable and un-American," Chris Sununu, president and CEO of Airlines for America, said in a statement. "Congress and the administration must act with urgency to reach a deal that reopens DHS and ends this shutdown."
Are you planning on flying this Spring Break? Well, you should get there early so you don't miss your flight. Trust us, it's not worth the risk.
