BWI Airport security wait times normalize after slow progress in the morning
Security wait times at BWI Airport normalized Thursday afternoon after slow progress for most of the morning, officials said.
Travelers were advised early Thursday to arrive three hours earlier than their departure time due to the longer-than-normal wait times, officials said.
It was the second time in the past week that the airport has experienced excessive wait times, as a partial government shutdown is causing frozen paychecks and prompting high call-out rates for TSA officers.
As of 11:30 a.m., officials said the security lines had normalized, and there are no significant waits. Checkpoint lines can fluctuate throughout the day, and travelers are still encouraged to arrive early.
BWI Airport wait times
Around 8 a.m., BWI Airport officials warned that security checkpoint A is closed while three others — security checkpoints B, C, and D/E — remain open.
"Airport and airline personnel are offering information and assistance to travelers," BWI officials said in a statement. "In some cases, the airlines are rebooking customers in the lines."
At BWI, call-out rates for TSA agents reached 29.1% Wednesday, according to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
"This reckless shutdown has driven nearly 500 TSA officers to quit, while thousands more are forced to call out because they can't afford gas, childcare, food, or rent," said Lauren Bis, Acting Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs at DHS.
The airport has suspended its online wait time estimation feature.
Partial government shutdown
The partial government shutdown, which has been affecting the DHS, has also caused long security wait times at airports across the U.S.
At Houston's George Bush Intercontinental Airport, 36% of TSA officers called out of work on Wednesday amid frozen paychecks, prompting extremely long security lines. As of Thursday at 9 a.m., maximum wait times were around three hours.
On Wednesday, a potential deal that would end the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) shutdown stalled.
TSA officials said the agency will reach nearly $1 billion in missed paychecks if the shutdown continues into Friday.
On Thursday, TSA officials said the agency may have to consolidate security lines and close smaller airports due to the lack of staffing.
On Tuesday, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents were deployed to 14 airports across the U.S. to assist with overcrowded security checkpoints. ICE agents have not been deployed to BWI Airport.
