By Merrilee Gasser | The Center Square
Over a month into the partial government shutdown that has left Transportation Security Administration employees without pay for the third time in nearly six months, Florida’s busiest travel season of the year hit its midpoint with millions of people flying into the state.
Tampa International Airport alone said it expects 3.1 million passengers between March 5 and April 13, averaging up to 80,000 travelers a day.
Orlando International Airport warned travelers of the lapse in funding for the Department of Homeland Security, encouraging people to stay up to date on airport operations. However, it said the Greater Orlando Aviation Authority did not anticipate “major” disruptions to operations.
Florida GOP Chairman Evan Power condemned Washington Democrats for allowing “chaos at our airports while communities across the state prepare for millions of visitors who fuel Florida’s tourism economy.”
“TSA agents shouldn’t be missing paychecks while politicians in Washington play games,” said Power.
He said the longer TSA agents go without pay, the more likely airports will see staffing shortages and longer security lines.
“What I’m hearing from our workforce is that what’s happening to them is nothing short of cruel,” said interim TSA Administrator Ha Nguyen McNeill. “And how do you respond to that? It’s just a really tough situation.”
On Wednesday morning, wait times at Florida airports averaged from several minutes up to 30 minutes.
Across the U.S. on Tuesday, travelers saw more than 4,000 flights get delayed within, into or out of the country and over 1,000 flights canceled, according to flight tracker website FlightAware. Among those flights, over 186 of the delays were out of Miami International Airport, 184 flights were delayed at Fort Lauderdale International Airport, and 224 delays were reported at Orlando International Airport.
Callout rates among TSA agents have spiked nationwide with some areas like Houston having a callout rate over 50% earlier this month, according to the Department of Homeland Security. Personnel are also leaving the agency in higher numbers.
Over the weekend, second-term Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis questioned whether the TSA should remain in charge of airport security.
“Is there evidence that creating TSA has made air travel safer over the past 25 years?” DeSantis wrote on social media in response to another post calling for the TSA to be privatized. “If not, then why not let the airlines and airports handle it? Why give politicians the power to play games with the travel of our people?”
A covert testing of TSA’s screening checkpoint effectiveness in 2017 found vulnerabilities with screener performance, equipment and “associated procedures.”