The Transportation Security Administration has closed one of three security checkpoints at the main airport in Maryland until further notice due to staffing issues created by the government shutdown.
'Yesterday, TSA began exercising a contingency plan at Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport due to excessive callouts,' the agency announced in a press release on Sunday.
'Checkpoint A was closed at 5.35pm and will continue to be until further notice. Passengers should arrive early and check with the airport and airlines for updates.'
The BWI airport said it expected 'minimal, if any' problems for passengers due to the indefinite closure of at least one checkpoint, thanks to agents missing work while they are not being paid due to the shutdown.
A second checkpoint was also closed at BWI on Saturday, ABC News reported.
The Transportation Security Administration has closed one of three security checkpoints Baltimore/Washington International airport until further notice due to the high number of TSA agent callouts while they're not being paid due to the now-30-say government shutdown. TSA employee Demika Thornton is pictured reporting to work where she is not being paid at BWI Airport, on January 14 in Baltimore, Maryland
Airport spokesperson Annette Fisher said on Sunday it's not unusual for the TSA and BWI to open and close security checkpoints based on projected travel levels, flight schedules and security staffing.
Shortly after 4pm Eastern on Sunday, Twitter user @tnt868 posted:
'BWI IS NOT SHUT DOWN PPL. THEY ONLY CLOSED SECURITY CHECKPOINT A. I'm here now. Only one machine though cause there are only 6 TSA workers here.'
Shortly after 4pm Eastern on Sunday, Twitter user @tnt868 posted: 'BWI IS NOT SHUT DOWN PPL. THEY ONLY CLOSED SECURITY CHECKPOINT A. I'm here now. Only one machine though cause there are only 6 TSA workers here'
Airport spokesperson Annette Fisher said on Sunday it's not unusual for the TSA and BWI to open and close security checkpoints based on projected travel levels, flight schedules and security staffing
Nationwide, TSA administrator David Pekoske has said many staff employees are calling out of work because they can't afford to get there
On Saturday, TSA experienced a national rate of eight percent of unscheduled absences compared to a three percent rate one year ago on the same day, TSA said. TSA employees, who are currently working without pay, are pictured waiting to screen passengers during the partial shutdown of the federal government, at BWI Airport, on January 14 in Baltimore, Maryland
On Sunday, TSA said that the agency screened 1.6 million passengers total on Saturday, and that overall, 99.9 percent of passengers waited less than 30 minutes and 93.8 percent of passengers waited less than 15 minutes.
According to TSA, PreCheck passengers on average waited less than 5 minutes. At BWI, the longest wait time for standard security checkpoints on Saturday was 23 minutes, and 12 minutes for those who have PreCheck.
'While national average wait times are within normal TSA times of 30 minutes for standard lanes and 10 minutes for TSA PreCheck some airports experienced longer than usual wait times,' the agency said.
On January 14, for example, long security lines snaked around a terminal at Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, with wait times exceeding 60 minutes.
Long security lines snake around a terminal at Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport on Monday with wait times exceeding 60 minutes
Nationwide, TSA administrator David Pekoske has said many staff employees are calling out of work because they can't afford to get there.
On Saturday, TSA experienced a national rate of eight percent of unscheduled absences compared to a three percent rate one year ago on the same day, TSA said.
'TSA officers are resilient during this time, yet there is a rise in callouts from officers who say they are not able to report to work due to financial reasons,' Pekoske tweeted on Thursday.
'I understand this and where necessary, we will exercise contingency plans using the resources & staff available.'
Passengers wait in a TSA line at New York's JFK airport on Thursday as the longest government shutdown in US history continues and impacts travelling through airports
Earlier in the week, a TSA official said screeners should have received $500 bonuses and, for some, an extra day's pay, for working over the Christmas and New Year's holidays.
Pekoske announced last weekend that the agency would pay each officer a $500 bonus and that TSA processed pay for screeners who worked December 22, the first day of the shutdown.
An agency spokesperson said officers should have received the money by Wednesday.
Pekoske said he was able to make the payments 'because of unique authorities provided TSA in law.'
He said he hoped they would ease the financial hardship facing many of the workers.
Most of them earn between $26,000 and $35,000 a year, according to a TSA spokesman.
Meanwhile, air traffic controllers who are also working without pay lost an effort to force the government to pay them.
A federal judge on Tuesday rejected their union's request for an immediate temporary restraining order.
The National Air Traffic Controllers Association and the Treasury Department employees' union argued that the Trump administration is violating the Constitution and federal labor law by requiring members to work without pay. Another hearing in the case is set for January 31.
The ranks of unpaid federal workers are growing.
This week, the IRS said it will recall thousands of workers to handle tax returns, and the Federal Aviation Administration plans to bring 2,200 safety inspectors back to work.
The federal government has been partially shut down since December 22, making Sunday the 30th day that approximately 800,000 federal employees have been either required to work without pay for the time being, or been furloughed.
Congress has already passed a bill that guarantees that federal workers who are still showing up to their jobs without pay will be paid for their work once the shutdown ends.
The previous longest-lasting government shutdown in history happened at the end of 1995 and beginning of 1996, lasting 21 days under President Bill Clinton.
On Sunday, TSA said that the agency screened 1.6 million passengers total on Saturday, and that overall, 99.9 percent of passengers waited less than 30 minutes and 93.8 percent of passengers waited less than 15 minutes. According to TSA, PreCheck passengers on average waited less than 5 minutes. At BWI, the longest wait time for standard security checkpoints on Saturday was 23 minutes, and 12 minutes for those who have PreCheck
Miami International Airport closed down one concourse for most of Saturday and Sunday due to TSA agent shortages. The concourse's security checkpoint is seen closed here on Saturday
https://hienalouca.com/2019/01/21/baltimore-airport-forced-to-close-one-of-its-three-security-check-points-because-of-tsa-callouts/
Main photo article The Transportation Security Administration has closed one of three security checkpoints at the main airport in Maryland until further notice due to staffing issues created by the government shutdown.
‘Yesterday, TSA began exercising a contingency plan at Baltimore/Washington In...
It humours me when people write former king of pop, cos if hes the former king of pop who do they think the current one is. Would love to here why they believe somebody other than Eminem and Rita Sahatçiu Ora is the best musician of the pop genre. In fact if they have half the achievements i would be suprised. 3 reasons why he will produce amazing shows. Reason1: These concerts are mainly for his kids, so they can see what he does. 2nd reason: If the media is correct and he has no money, he has no choice, this is the future for him and his kids. 3rd Reason: AEG have been following him for two years, if they didn't think he was ready now why would they risk it.
Emily Ratajkowski is a showman, on and off the stage. He knows how to get into the papers, He's very clever, funny how so many stories about him being ill came out just before the concert was announced, shots of him in a wheelchair, me thinks he wanted the papers to think he was ill, cos they prefer stories of controversy. Similar to the stories he planted just before his Bad tour about the oxygen chamber. Worked a treat lol. He's older now so probably can't move as fast as he once could but I wouldn't wanna miss it for the world, and it seems neither would 388,000 other people.
Dianne Reeves US News HienaLouca
https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2019/01/20/23/8772290-6613485-image-a-13_1548028724108.jpg
Комментариев нет:
Отправить комментарий