Airport wait times now at record-highs, TSA says: ‘A dire situation’

(NEXSTAR) – TSA officials said Wednesday that airport wait times are now at all-time highs, and the agency may be forced to temporarily close some airports due to the partial government shutdown.

Ha Nguyen McNeill, the agency’s acting administrator, said during a Homeland Security committee hearing that multiple airports in the U.S. face agent callout rates higher than 40%.

“We are being forced to consolidate lanes and may have to close smaller airports if we do not have enough officers,” she said. “It is a fluid, challenging and unpredictable situation.”

As of Wednesday, here’s how TSA staffing stood at several of the nation’s largest airports, one day after 3,160 agents called out nationwide:

Nearly 37% of TSA workers called out Tuesday at both Atlanta’s........

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