Trump to order TSA workers paid as Atlanta airport feels strain of shutdown

Trump’s announcement, made on his Truth Social account, comes a day before TSA officers were slated to miss their second full paycheck. They’ve gone nearly six weeks without pay during the partial government shutdown.

It’s unclear how fast TSA workers will get their money or how much conditions at airports will immediately improve.

Meanwhile, another busy weekend is ahead, with the airport forecasting more than 82,000 travelers expected at security checkpoints at Hartsfield-Jackson on Friday.

“It’s hit or miss when you get here,” airport General Manager Ricky Smith said Thursday of the quandary of trying to predict when lines will get long.

He advises people to try to arrive three to four hours ahead of their flights and even up to five or six hours to be safe during busy weekend days.

“This is an amazing facility,” Smith said in an exclusive interview ahead of Trump’s announcement.

“It handles more passengers than any other facility in the world. But it wasn’t designed for what we’re experiencing.”

The city-run airport has pulled staff from finance, marketing and other non-operations areas to help manage crowd control.

They’ve added new signage to help people find the end of the lines, which have at times stretched outside the terminal building.

“That’s the extent of the control that we have. We don’t control the checkpoints. We don’t control staffing levels, but anything we can do to make the passengers feel as best as possible out of here, that’s what we’re working on,” Smith said.

TSA officers desperate to find ways to pay their bills have been calling out of work to turn to other ways to earn money. That’s driving severe understaffing at airport security checkpoints.

Credit: Ben Hendren

Credit: Ben Hendren

Atlanta again saw the highest callout rate among major airports in the country Wednesday at more than 40%. Callout rates have ranged from 30-40% in the last week.

Smith was quick to highlight this means 60-70% of Atlanta TSA employees are still showing up for work without pay.

“We should take every opportunity we get to thank them,” he said.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents have been deployed to Hartsfield-Jackson and some other airports across the country since Monday, helping with tasks such as checking IDs before security screening.

But severe choke points for airport security screening have continued during the busiest periods.

Although lulls in traffic bring minimal waits, lines ramp back up during busy periods.

Pressure on lawmakers has been growing for days to resolve their stalemate on funding for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and end the partial government shutdown. Congress is scheduled to leave town by the end of the week for spring break recess.

Trump’s move to pay TSA workers could relieve some of that pressure.

“It certainly feels like the new normal,” Smith said early Thursday afternoon of the long security wait times. “But we hope Congress will figure out a way to pull TSA — and I will also say air traffic controllers — out of these funding bills that have a tendency to tie things up.”

Smith warned that the upcoming K-12 spring break, which for many systems is April 6-10, could be even worse than last week’s college spring break, given the complexity of managing children in long lines.

“That’s going to create some more anxiety in the lines,” he said.

In a video posted on LinkedIn, Metro Atlanta Chamber CEO Katie Kirkpatrick called on Congress to act.

“When the world’s busiest airport becomes unreliable, it sends a signal across the country. That signal affects how companies think about investing, expanding and doing business here,” Kirkpatrick said. “We need Congress to take action quickly and decisively.”

From Friday through Monday, more than 320,000 people are expected to pass through TSA checkpoints at Hartsfield-Jackson, with the biggest crowds Sunday. Monday mornings are often especially hectic, even during normal times, as business travelers crowd the terminal.

Credit: Jason Getz/AJC

Credit: Jason Getz/AJC

Caleb Todd, 28, waited in a line that stretched outside the world’s busiest airport’s North Terminal around 6 a.m. Thursday.

Todd and his wife, Abbey, arrived in Atlanta on Wednesday night from their home in Auburn, Alabama. They stayed overnight with friends, then arrived at the airport at 5 a.m. for a flight later in the day to New York City. It will be their first trip to the Big Apple.

The Todds said the lines they found were longer than they expected, but the clear instructions they received about where to start their journey through security was better than anticipated. Asked who he held responsible for the partial government shutdown, Caleb Todd said “blame hasn’t really crossed my mind.”

“I think I’m more impressed with the volume of people that this airport has to service regularly,” he said. “And I feel like I’m seeing it in a fresh way because of this.”

Credit: Ben Hendren

Credit: Ben Hendren

Callout rates among TSA officers have increased nationwide, with multiple airports seeing more than 40% and 50% of employees out, acting TSA Administrator Ha Nguyen McNeill said in congressional testimony Wednesday.

“This can’t go on forever. You can’t expect the 60-70% of TSA employees that are coming to work to continue to do that” without being paid, Smith said.

“If they’re not here, the airport can’t function.”

Nearly 500 TSA officers have quit nationwide, according to officials.

“Officers are reportedly sleeping in their cars at airports to save gas money, selling their blood and plasma and taking on second and third jobs to make ends meet, all while expected to perform at the highest level when in uniform to protect the traveling public,” McNeill said in testimony.

“Many have received eviction notices, lost their child care, missed bill payments and been charged late fees, damaged their credit, defaulted on loans and have been unable to even qualify for a loan to help ease the financial burden during the shutdown,” McNeill said.