TSA shortage causes long lines at New Orleans, Houston airports

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Travelers at Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport faced long security lines Sunday due to a shortage of Transportation Security Administration agents, the airport said. Officials urged passengers to arrive at least three hours before flights, warning that wait times could last up to two hours and that delays might continue through the week.

It is unclear whether similar delays are affecting other airports nationwide. Recent days have already seen flight disruptions in cities such as Atlanta due to weather.

TSA agents are expected to work without pay during the ongoing shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security, which began Feb. 14. Democratic lawmakers have said DHS funding will not resume until new restrictions are placed on federal immigration operations following the fatal shootings of Alex Pretti and Renee Good in Minneapolis earlier this year.

Chris Sununu, president and CEO of Airlines for America, a trade group for U.S. airlines, urged Congress and the Trump administration to reach a deal.

“We are in spring break travel season and expecting record numbers of people to take to the skies,” he said. “Airlines have done their part to prepare; now Congress and the administration must act with urgency to reopen DHS and end this shutdown. America’s transportation security workforce is too important to be used as political leverage.”

Jessica Andersen Alexie and her two children, 10 and 13, were among travelers caught in the long lines at Houston’s Hobby Airport as they tried to return home to New Orleans after attending the World Baseball Classic.

Alexie said her family arrived three hours early but still could not make their flight. After checking rental cars and finding none available, they rebooked for a late-night flight and used the CLEAR security line, which took about three and a half hours. Later, she found three seats on an earlier flight, allowing her family to return Sunday afternoon.

When they landed in New Orleans, Alexie said, the line extended into the parking garage.

“It was nuts,” she said. “It was crazy.”