Some airport security lanes in Atlanta, Washington and Houston were closed as the TSA continued to grapple with more absenteeism during the partial government shutdown. The TSA will begin relocating airport screening officers “on a national basis to meet staffing shortages that cannot be addressed locally,” the federal agency said in a tweet Monday. The TSA will also join airports and airlines in announcing when security lane closures occur so travellers can plan accordingly. Wait times to pass through security were “over an hour” at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International’s main checkpoint for domestic flights, the airport said on its website. Screening times were as much as 45 minutes at the two other domestic-flight checkpoints at the nation’s busiest hub. The airport is adding more “live music at all of our checkpoints to help ease tensions for passengers,” spokeswoman Elise Durham said in an email. The TSA on Monday experienced more than twice the normal rate of security officers calling in sick, agency spokesman Michael Bilello said in a tweet. The rate of 7.6% unscheduled absences compared with 3.2% on Monday, Jan. 15, 2018, he said.<br/>
general
FAA approval of aircraft such as Boeing’s MAX and new routes like Southwest Airline’s Hawaii launch are on hold due to the US government shutdown, delaying commercial operations. On Monday, Southwest said its plans to launch service to Hawaii early this year are on hold because the FAA groups that oversee the route authorization process are on furlough. Southwest said it will not announce any timelines for selling or operating flights to Hawaii until it receives the necessary authorisation. A partial US government shutdown over President Donald Trump’s demand for $5.7b to build a wall along the US-Mexico border entered its 24th day on Monday. The partial government shutdown is also affecting the certification program for US business jet maker Gulfstream Aerospace’s new G600 corporate plane, along with other “facets of our business,” a company spokeswoman said on Monday by email. Gulfstream had previously expected to obtain FAA certification or approval for the G600 by late 2018. Meanwhile, American Airlines Group said it has taken delivery of two new MAX 8, but the planes are sitting idle in Tulsa, Oklahoma awaiting FAA approvals required for commercial operation. A spokesman for United said the carrier is waiting for FAA service to be restored so it can enter one 737 MAX 9 and one used Airbus A319 into service. <br/>
Europe’s Airbus is ratcheting up pressure on suppliers like United Technologies to cut costs for its Canadian-developed A220 jetliner as it expands factory facilities to cope with anticipated demand for the former Bombardier model. Long seen as low on the list of priorities for top suppliers as Canada struggled to break into the main airliner market, the A220 now has the clout of the world’s second largest planemaker behind it after Airbus bought the loss-making project last year. Philippe Balducchi, head of an Airbus-led venture which took over production last July, said the planemaker was looking for a “significant double-digit” percentage reduction in costs but played down suggestions that it could slash costs by half. Balducchi indicated the bulk of the reduction in costs would come from the supply chain as Airbus uses its greater clout in negotiations for parts. Other savings would come from more efficient operations as workers gain experience of building the lightweight 110-130-seat jet, whose deliveries doubled to 33 aircraft last year. However, overall economies will go “way beyond” what Airbus can achieve internally on the assembly line, Balducchi said.<br/>