How a government shutdown could affect your air travel
Funding for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security is set to expire this weekend, setting up another partial federal government shutdown that could disrupt air travel for Americans.
It will leave essential workers required to work without pay, including at the Transportation Security Administration and Customs and Border Protection, as travelers across the country prepare for upcoming school winter break travel.
Congressional Democrats have refused to approve the budget without new restrictions on federal immigration operations, and negotiations failed to reach a deal this week, the AP reports.
Here’s how it could affect travel at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport and elsewhere:
TSA and CBP are hit, not air traffic control
Unlike last fall’s shutdown, this funding halt will only affect DHS agencies including Immigration and Customs Enforcement, TSA and CBP.
Air traffic controllers and Federal Aviation Administration employees are unaffected, because funding has been approved for the U.S. Department of Transportation, which includes the FAA.
About 95% of TSA employees are considered “essential” and must continue to work without pay during a shutdown, Ha Nguyen McNeill, acting TSA administrator, told a House committee this week.
About 93% of CBP employees, who manage customs and international border crossing and security, are also “essential” and must continue working, a DHS document outlined in September.
Passenger security wait impact
Atlanta and other U.S. airports saw several security “hot spot” days with abnormally long waits last fall, especially as the shutdown dragged on and TSA officers started missing paychecks.
“The mental and emotional toll that it takes on our workforce cannot be overstated,” McNeill testified. A second shutdown would be “unconscionable,” she said.
Based on the federal payroll schedule, employees would be set to receive their first partial paycheck March 4. If the shutdown continues beyond that, essential employees would receive zero pay for hours worked.
During last fall’s 43-day shutdown, the agency heard reports of officers sleeping in their cars to save gas money, taking on high-interest credit card debt, drawing on retirement savings and selling blood or plasma, McNeill said.
By the end of the shutdown TSA saw almost double its standard rate of unscheduled absences, she said, triple at some airports, forcing consolidation of screening lanes.
Still, across the board the agency was largely able to maintain normal security wait times thanks to those that continued to work, she noted.
Long term ramifications
TSA has already seen a long lasting impact on recruiting and staffing levels after last fall’s shutdown, McNeill said. The agency saw a 25% higher attrition rate during the shutdown than the year prior, she said.
Some officers express continued concern about staying in the job given the ongoing financial risk of shutdowns.
Even though officers did receive back pay, twelve weeks later “some are just now recovering” financially from the shutdown and many are “still reeling from it,” McNeill said.
In a statement Friday a coalition of travel industry associations, including Airlines for America that represents Atlanta-based Delta Air Lines, issued a joint statement demanding guaranteed funding for TSA and air traffic control during all government funding lapses.
“Travelers and the U.S. economy cannot afford to have essential TSA personnel working without pay, which increases the risk of unscheduled absences and call outs, and ultimately can lead to higher wait times and missed or delayed flights,” the statement read.
“Funding uncertainties create lasting damage to the entire travel ecosystem, especially the airlines, hotels and thousands of small businesses the travel industry supports. It also stifles recruitment, retention, preparedness and modernization efforts.”
About the Author
As a business reporter, Emma Hurt leads coverage of the Atlanta airport, Delta Air Lines, UPS, Norfolk Southern and other travel and logistics companies. Prior to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution she worked as an editor and Atlanta reporter for Axios, a politics reporter for WABE News and a business reporter for the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.
