Acting deputy TSA administrator Adam Stahl says the agency is concerned about the growing number of sick calls among TSA officers, which is leading to long security lines at airports across the country.
“If the call rate does climb, there could be scenarios where we may have to shut down airports,” he told CBS News. “This is a serious situation.”
Stahl said the situation will get worse the longer the agency and the Department of Homeland Security don’t receive funding. “This will not get better,” he said.
Hundreds of TSA officers have quit, while the 50,000 who are going to work are living without pay.
“Our people are hurting,” Stahl said. “We have individuals sleeping in their cars, drawing blood to afford to pay for gas to get to work.”
Airport closures, however, did not seem imminent as of early Wednesday – a scenario that is more plausible at small airports.
TSA wait times top 2 hours as sick calls surge
TSA sick calls have been surging since officers missed a paycheck Friday due to the month-long partial government shutdown. Monday saw the most yet, with 10.22% of officers nationwide calling out – five times more than a typical day. On Tuesday, the sick calls dropped off slightly to 9.88%, according to TSA.
The top five days of sick calls this year, not including Feb. 23 when there was a blizzard on the East Coast, have all come since officers missed a paycheck.
The William P. Hobby Airport in Houston, Texas, struggled the most with staffing on Tuesday, with nearly 41% of TSA officers calling out, according to TSA. New Orleans hit nearly 36%.
In Atlanta, over 37% of TSA officers called out sick on Monday, according to the agency, closing one of the checkpoints at the world’s busiest airport. The number of sick calls also dropped slightly Tuesday, but wait times to get through security still topped two hours.
At George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston, wait times were at least 103 minutes.
As staffing drops, more TSA screening lanes will close, and from there, entire checkpoints – making lines and wait times at airports even longer.
Three of the six checkpoints at the Philadelphia airport will be closed on Wednesday.
