PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Officials closed one of the security checkpoints at Philadelphia International Airport on Thursday, as the partial government shutdown and the subsequent TSA staffing shortage drag on.
The decision to temporarily close the Terminal C checkpoint on Thursday was “to help optimize operations across other checkpoints,” the airport announced Wednesday night. Travelers with TSA PreCheck who would typically go to Terminal C are being diverted to the Terminal A-East and Terminal D/E checkpoints.
Long lines stretched along the pedestrian bridges toward the parking garage for the early flights out of town. Some travelers expressed frustration and were nervous that they could miss their flights.
Taylor, from Telford, was still toward the back of the line at 4:38 a.m. for a 5:15 a.m. flight. He started to think about a backup plan.
“Probably having to purchase tickets that are going to be really expensive to get in the next flight. Not quite sure,” he said.
“Flight is at 6, we board in less than an hour,” said Caroline, from Media. “It’s always bad here. I travel frequently across the country and this is the worst I’ve ever seen.
“I’m traveling with my 81-year-old father, who hasn’t been on a plane in over 50 years. For this to be what he has to experience … I’m very disappointed.”
The partial shutdown affects only the Department of Homeland Security, which includes TSA. Democrats in Congress refused to fund the department over objections to its immigration enforcement tactics. The lapse marks the third shutdown in less than a year to leave TSA workers temporarily without pay — and once the government reopens, to have to wait for backpay.
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TSA employee callouts have increased as the government shutdown continues and coincides with the very busy spring break travel period.
Joe Shuker, vice president of AFGE Region 7, said TSA officers are reporting to work until they cannot. It has been a struggle in large part because they never fully recovered from the shutdown late last year, he said.
One of the options recommended to officers in need of money during shutdowns is to borrow from their Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) retirement accounts. Shuker said those loan payments and other deductions were not paused, so workers had the income from their partial paychecks slashed even more. In one instance, an officer ended up with a paycheck for $12.45.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.