WASHINGTON — Many are feeling the impacts of the government shutdown at airports nationwide, but not at the airports in our backyard, officials from the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority said Monday.
TSA security screeners are not getting paid and calling out sick at major hubs like Atlanta where Monday the world's busiest airport alerted passengers to plan on three hours to clear security.
Security at Reagan National Airport and Dulles International Airport is running smoothly, airport officials. Transportation Security Administration officials tweeted about issues at Dulles, where security was limited to one line for part of the day.
MWAA officials rushed to clarify the communique and stressed the sick calls were because of Sunday's snowstorm-- not the shutdown.
The number of sickouts across the country started to spike over the weekend. CBS News reported that on Monday the number was almost double compared to the same day last year.
What is not clear is whether the shutdown is turning away travelers altogether. January is typically a light month for air travel, but it might turn out to be lighter than usual. Government workers and contractors are not working-- and not flying-- through data won't be available for a few weeks.