Arriving at the airport two hours early, as generally recommended, is bad enough. Navigating the logistics of boarding your flight can be tricky; passengers have to budget time for checking bags, getting through security, and trekking to their gate. But imagine being told to come four hours before departure. Even five.
That is what people traveling out of Houston are being instructed to do this week. Travelers from the Lone Star state are reporting three-hour lines through security check points, a far cry from the 15-30 minute airport average under normal circumstances.
The partial Department of Homeland Security (DHS) shutdown is causing significant airport delays by not properly funding TSA agents and air traffic controllers; employee absenteeism is up because pay is non-existent.
American consumers are paying the price. Long lines are just the beginning.
Reduced staff for security and, in some cases, air traffic control can cause ripple effects throughout the interconnected aviation system. Staff shortages usually lead to delayed or cancelled flights.
During a previous shutdown, just ten traffic controllers calling in “sick” was enough to temporarily shut down travel at New York’s La Guardia airport and cause delays at other major hubs. These highly specialized employees are not easily replaceable. And their job responsibilities of monitoring planes both in the air and on the ground are extremely critical for the 44,000 flights per day that serve approximately three million passengers.
Last fall’s 43-day shutdown resulted in at least 9,000 delayed or cancelled flights which significantly impacted six million travelers and caused $6.1 billion in economic losses across the travel industry and related sectors.
As of March 8, this shutdown has seen more than 7,200 delayed flights and more than 670 cancelled flights.
Stalls in Congress led one House member to declare, “Now is not the time to leave agencies critical to our national security in limbo. With global tensions rising and real threats facing our homeland, the Department of Homeland Security must be fully funded and operational.”
Congress needs to quit holding the travel industry hostage with its funding disputes. Millions of passengers rely on the airline industry daily for work or leisure, and millions more depend on its economic aspects to pay their bills.
For the safety and well-being of TSA workers, controllers, and passengers, DHS needs its funding.
Kristen Walker is Senior Policy Analyst and Manager for Energy and Transportation with the American Consumer Institute, a nonprofit education and research organization. Follow us on X @ConsumerPal.