GRAPEVINE (1080 KRLD) - DFW Airport says lines have been reduced at Customs in Terminal D, where passengers are being screened for coronavirus. DFW is one of 13 airports identified by the Department of Homeland Security to screen passengers returning from other countries.
Saturday, passengers posted video of the line at Customs. Some said they had waited 3-5 hours in line.
"This is unacceptable & I'm working to get it fixed," Governor Greg Abbott tweeted, along with a link to video showing the lines. "I have spoken to the official in charge of this--the head of Homeland Security. They are working 24-7 to add personnel and make other changes to fix this ASAP."
DFW Airport says the delays were caused by federally mandated testing procedures, and Customs and Border Protection was working with the CDC to reduce wait times.
"In response to the delays in processing passengers through Customs on Saturday, Customs and Border Protection (CBP), working with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), made adjustments to the process for the federally mandated enhanced screening at DFW Airport. These resulted in wait times much closer to those normally seen. Other than a short time when the average wait time got to approximately 30 minutes, most hourly wait time averages were 10 minutes or less," DFW wrote in a statement.
Monday morning, passengers arriving at Terminal D say they did not wait longer than they normally do.
"It wasn't bad," one woman arriving from Buenos Aires said. "It was pretty easy."
She and her husband say they did have delays because of screening when they left Argentina.
"It was kind of frantic at the airport in Buenos Aires," she says. "There were a jillion people lined up."
Her husband says passengers' temperatures were taken when they got on and off the plane.
One man waiting outside the doors to Customs said he was concerned his wife would get caught in a wait similar to this weekend.
"This is the first time I've been through this. We've never had it like this," he said. "I'm really concerned."
