How TSA lines at Boston's Logan Airport are being impacted by partial government shutdown
The partial government shutdown is leading to long lines at airports around the country as some TSA workers have called out sick while they go without a paycheck. At Logan Airport in Boston, passengers say the impact has not yet been as severe.
TSA employees missed their first full paycheck on Friday. Since the start of the federal funding lapse, data obtained by CBS News shows that more than 350 TSA workers have quit. In addition, call-out rates have more than tripled. Airports in Atlanta, New York's JFK, Houston, New Orleans and Pittsburgh have had the highest impact.
TSA wait times at Logan
Long security checkpoint lines were reported over the weekend at several major airports, including Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport, Austin and Atlanta, among others.
On Monday, a MassPort spokesperson told CBS Boston that at Logan Airport in Boston, "we have not seen any impacts to staffing at this time."
On Sunday, CBS Boston spoke with several passengers who said they arrived at the airport much earlier than usual, worried that TSA shortages could slow down security checkpoints. While things could change any day, so far that has not happened at Logan Airport.
"We're here like 2.5 hours early, it's not as bad as I expected it to be," passenger Peyton Collins said. "It's a big airport and we didn't want to miss our flight."
TSA morale "is very low"
In a statement to CBS Boston, the president of the New England TSA officers union, Mike Gayzagian, said staffing concerns are impacting workers' morale.
"Morale is very low, and people are very concerned about how long they can stay in the job," he said. "The union will again be opening food pantries to support the officers like we did during the shutdown last fall. It's unfortunate we have to do this, but it's necessary."
Chris Sununu, the former governor of New Hampshire who now leads the lobbying group Airlines for America, called for employees to be paid.
"What else is more important than paying your own workers?" Sununu said. "Have your political fights on the side, but don't drag down the entire traveling American public because of it."
