Security waits top an hour at Atlanta Airport amid shutdown

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/>