TSA agent attrition may force the closure of some U.S. airports if the Department of Homeland Security shutdown lasts much longer, a TSA administrator said.
In an interview with Fox News, acting deputy TSA administrator Adam Stahl lamented the hardship that TSA agents are facing, saying that some workers have called out because they can't afford the cost of childcare, and that's he's aware of TSA workers who are sleeping in their cars.
With the DHS shutdown now more than a month old, TSA agents last received partial payment in late February and won't get paid again until the shutdown ends.
The situation is leading to spikes in TSA officer call-outs, according to a March 17 DHS statement, especially at airports in Houston, Atlanta and New Orleans, where flyers have had to deal with especially long security lines on some recent days.
"If this continues it's not hyperbole to suggest that we might have to quite literally shut down airports, particularly smaller ones if call-out rates go up and a lot of these officers can't afford to come in," Stahl said.
At issue in the DHS shutdown are demands by Democrats for new restrictions on Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents before they will agree to a new DHS funding package. The TSA, which is housed within the DHS, has been caught in the crossfire.
The circumstances prompted TSA to temporarily close Global Entry lanes; they were reopened March 11.
Travel lobby groups, airlines and the American Federation of Government Employees, which represents 44,000 TSA agents nationwide, have called on Congress to end the shutdown and pass legislation that would safeguard TSA worker pay against future shutdowns.
Some airports have also gotten involved. Denver Airport, for example, has placed donation boxes in its main terminal and at the cell phone passenger pick-up lot and has asked flyers and its staff to donate grocery and gas gift cards.