The long TSA security lines in some U.S. airports looked to be easing on Monday as TSA officers began receiving backpay.
However, the union that represents TSA workers complained of paycheck mistakes and said that some backpay has yet to be issued.
At Houston Bush Intercontinental Airport, where lines had stretched for hours in recent weeks, the airport estimated security lines at no more than 10 minutes in the early afternoon.
In Atlanta, another epicenter of security checkpoint chaos, the airport was reporting waits of less than 5 minutes. In addition, the airport had restored the wait-time monitor to its website after pulling it in previous weeks as lines sometimes stretched out the door.
Delta reported three-minutes lines for the standard checkpoint at New York LaGuardia. But the airline did report tougher conditions at JFK, with standard security line waits of 49 minutes a bit before 3 p.m.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said that the large majority of TSA employees received two paychecks in backpay Monday. Some workers may see delays due to processing times.
TSA employees had been working without pay for more than six weeks since the DHS shutdown began in February due to a dispute between Democrats and Republicans over funding for deportation operations.
The shutdown is ongoing with no signs of coming to an end while Congress is at the beginning of a two-week recess. However, President Trump on March 27 ordered that TSA staffers be paid using unspecified funds. DHS did not respond to a request for specifics on the funding source.
TSA employees have yet to receive money for the half paycheck they missed at the beginning of the shutdown, but acting DHS assistant secretary Lauren Bis said it is "working aggressively" to distribute those checks.
In a statement Monday, the American Federation of Government Employees, the union representing TSA workers, said that some members received paychecks with incorrect pay amounts due to missing overtime payments and improper tax withholdings.
Union president Hydrick Thomas laid into Congress for leaving for recess without a deal to reopen DHS.
"TSA members are grateful to receive some backpay today," Thomas said. "But many of our members have seen bills pile up, interest and late fees add up, cars repossessed and families thrown into disarray because Congress has failed to do their job."