Travelers planning to fly during the partial government shutdown are asked not to arrive at the airport four or more hours in advance, as doing so may cause delays and congestion.
John Glenn International Airport in Columbus, Ohio, issued a public service announcement announcing that arriving 90 minutes before a flight was a “sweet spot” to allow passengers enough time to get through security without causing airport congestion.
“It’s very early to set up the first wave of calls,” the airport said, asking travelers to “help us keep things moving.”
The message contained a chart showing an example of departure times near the airport’s ideal arrival times.
Austin-Bergstrom International Airport in Texas always asks domestic passengers to arrive two hours early and international passengers three hours early, but says there is no reason for anyone to be at the airport more than four hours before their flight. Washington Post reports.
“There is no need to wait more than 4 hours before your flight, as this causes congestion in the queues for those flying early,” the airport said.
But the messages are mixed. Some airports, such as Thurgood Marshall International Airport in Baltimore-Washington, have asked travelers to arrive up to four hours before their flights this week. Other airlines have reported fewer, if any, problems, especially after President Donald Trump’s order to restore the pay of TSA agents.
“Since President Trump issued the order to pay TSA officers on March 28, calls to TSA officers have dropped by nearly 30%,” Lauren Bis, deputy assistant secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, said. Post.
The shutdown has not only caused delays but has threatened to shut down the airport entirely as unpaid TSA workers have complained.
The workers who were on strike in February and March were the same representatives whose paychecks were denied in the fall during the longest government shutdown in the nation’s history.
According to a report by PBS News, the call rate at the airport during the previous closure was 40 percent, and about 500 of the approximately 50,000 TSA agents quit during that time.
But now that the money is back, things are starting to get back to normal. Some airlines are now reporting smooth sailing. BWI said Post on Tuesday that it had returned to its “normal” operation. As of Wednesday morning, the security line at LaGuardia Terminal B was on hold for four minutes.
According to the Delta News Hub, most travelers at JFK International Airport wait about 10 minutes through security, while travelers at LAX wait about four minutes.
Lines tend to be longer at peak times, such as in the morning.
Travel expert Zach Griff said Post that he has not answered calls in the four hours since the partial closure, but warned that travelers should stay informed about their flights and the airport to avoid potential problems.
“You really have to stay on your game,” he told the outlet.
He also said that worrying about possible problems is what makes some passengers arrive at the airport many hours early.
“It makes a lot of people end up deciding, ‘I don’t care, I’ll be three hours early.’
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