Busy Morning At Midway Has Security Lines Jammed
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Security checkpoints at Midway International Airport were a mess Friday morning, with hundreds if not thousands of passengers waiting in long lines to get into the terminals.
Passenger Mark Racain said the line stretched outside the airport, and he spoke to another passenger who waited an hour to get through the line.
"I got here about two hours before my flight. I actually got pre-checked, so I went right through, but the TSA line was stretching into the parking garage," he said. "It's outside. One of the TSA guys said you can't see the end, because it's outside."
A representative for the Transportation Security Administration said the wait is not that long, saying it was taking maybe 35 minutes for people to get through.
Racain said a TSA supervisor told him there was nothing they could do.
"Nobody seems to care that a lot of people are going to miss their flights today," he said.
Other passengers in line said TSA workers told them they were short-staffed. Others said they were told Southwest Airlines had full flights due to a sale, and both TSA and Southwest workers were blaming each other for the delay.
A TSA spokesman denied the agency was short-staffed at Midway on Friday, and said it's just a busy day at the airport. Racain said flights for Southwest Airlines – the main carrier at Midway – appeared to be completely booked.
The TSA said it always advises travelers to arrive two hours before their scheduled flight when traveling at a large airport like Midway, to make sure they have enough time to check in and get through security.