SEATTLE — Travelers at SEA are pleasantly surprised to see relatively quick wait times at TSA checkpoints.
But it’s a different story at many other airports around the country.
“Right after I got through the TSA line I looked back and I had almost doubled since I’d gotten there,” said Mackenzie Fetter, who just flew in from Orlando.
Because of the partial government shutdown, TSA agents aren’t getting paid and more are quitting or calling out.
Port of Seattle Commissioner Sam Cho says SEA is in a good spot, for now.
“Our wait times right now are fairly normal,15 minutes, and that’s because our absentee rate is a lot lower than other airports, probably hovering around 10 percent, as opposed to some 40-plus percent other airports,” said Cho.
The White House says, to help with the staffing crisis, ICE agents will help out at some airports.
“We saw probably about 20 ICE officers in full gear there at the airport and was just kind of curious,” said Tacoma resident David Hammond who had just flown in from Phoenix.
When asked if he was concerned by their presence, Hammond responded, “a little bit – it’s not something you normally see at the airport.”
Meanwhile, at SEA, the port commissioner says the agency is doing whatever it can to help TSA agents — including bringing in donations for the TSA food pantry and port staffers helping fill in some non-security gaps.
“We are hopeful that our model is helping keep ICE off of our checkpoints,” said Cho.
But that could change as TSA agents at SEA prepare to go without a second full paycheck.
“I do think that after the second paycheck is missed you might see a little more absenteeism and the longer this goes on, the more of the risk there is of attrition,” said Cho.
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