More TSA checkpoints reopen at Philadelphia International Airport after weeks of staffing constraints
TSA wait times are improving at Philadelphia International Airport on Friday after another shuttered security checkpoint reopened for travelers.
The Terminal A-West checkpoint resumed normal operations at 5 a.m. Friday. Another closed checkpoint at Terminal F is set to reopen on Tuesday, April 7, PHL said. Both are returning to their regular hours.
The Terminal C security checkpoint, which only serves TSA PreCheck travelers, reopened on its normal schedule Thursday.
Friday morning, the webpage tracking TSA security line wait times at PHL showed the longest wait was about six minutes at Terminal D/E.
TSA and PHL were working through staffing constraints as TSA officers went without pay in the longest government shutdown in U.S. history. The partial shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security — which funds and oversees TSA — led to hundreds of TSA officers quitting nationwide, while others used sick time.
Travel horror stories emerged from some airports, like Houston's George Bush Intercontinental Airport, where wait times stretched to as long as six hours last month. Philly experienced longer lines and wait times as well, and at one point recommended travelers arrive 2.5 hours before a domestic flight or 3.5 hours before an international flight.
Last week, President Trump signed an executive order telling DHS to resume paying TSA officers. Workers began receiving back pay this week, though many are still behind on bills, according to a union official who represents TSA officers at Philadelphia and Wilmington airports.