Transcript for More than twice the normal number of sick calls: TSA
All of this on day 24 now of the government shutdown, the longest in U.S. History. And now, major delays at airports across the country. The TSA tonight reporting more than double the Normal of sick calls coming in. Airport officials in Atlanta tonight are now urging travellers to arrive three hours early tomorrow. Hundreds of passengers waiting more than an hour in line today at security checkpoints. Houston closing a terminal again tomorrow. Dulles shutting down lines for part of the day today. ABC’s Steve osunsami with the scene from Atlanta. Reporter: At the world’s busiest airport in Atlanta today, the long lines that snaked all the way back to baggage claim spelled grief from the government shutdown. You know, it’s chaos out here. This line up in here about 15 minute and it probably moved two feet. Reporter: Several security lanes that are normally open during the rush hours remain closed. It’s one big line because there’s not enough TSA. Reporter: And people are missing their flights. The lines are longer, so, we’ll put two and two together and it looks as if there may be people calling out. Reporter: The government says that more than twice the Normal of TSA workers are calling in sick, and they’re struggling in cities like Washington, where they’ve had to close checkpoints, and Miami, where a terminal was closed over the weekend. In Houston, terminal B will stay closed tomorrow for a third day in a row. The terminal I was supposed to fly out of is closed. I have to round the entire airport just to getal B. Reporter: Air traffic controller Jacob James is working with no pay and says he told his three girls, no dance class or soccer for now. That few hundred dollars for everything, for each of my daughters, it adds up real quick. Let’s get back to Steve, who has been covering the shutdown. He’s live in Atlanta tonight, and Steve, the lines have gone down now, but airport officials are giving warning to flyers about what could come tomorrow. Reporter: That’s right, David. The airport says that there’s not much they can do about TSA, but they can do plenty about warning passengers, and that is to get here at least three hours before your flight, that’s an hour longer than norm am, and that’s not just for tomorrow, but from here on out. David? Steve, thank you.
This transcript has been automatically generated and may not be 100% accurate.
