Smaller airports could close due to Department of Homeland Security shutdown

Acting Deputy TSA Administrator Adam Stahl told Fox News on Tuesday that smaller airports in the U.S. could be forced to shut down if more security workers call in sick or quit. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) shut down on Feb. 14, leaving its security workers without pay. About 300 TSA workers have quit and the national callout rate has jumped to 10.19%. Stahl claims the TSA has already depleted its National Deployment Office of all available workers, spreading its resources thin. "So at this point, we're fully stretched," Stahl told Fox. "Frankly, there's not much else we can do. As the weeks continue, if this continues, it's not hyperbole to suggest that we may have to quite literally shut down airports, particularly smaller ones, if callout rates go up... A lot of those officers can't afford to come in." Airlines for America sent a letter to Congress on Sunday to pass the Aviation Funding Solvency Act, the Keep America Flying Act and the Aviation Funding Stability Act, which would provide pay for TSA and ATC workers during shutdowns. It claims that an estimated 171 million passengers are expected to fly in the spring, and TSA wait times are reported to range from 2 to 4 hours. Members of Airlines for America include American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Southwest Airlines and JetBlue Airways. RELATED STORIES: NBAA joins Joint Aviation Community coalition to detail industry views Military laser shoots down border protection drone; ranking Congressional Democrats furious Bitlux conducts emergency relief flights to stranded passengers in Mexico "TSA officers just received $0 paychecks," said the letter. "That is simply unacceptable. It's difficult, if not impossible, to put food on the table, put gas in the car and pay rent when you are not getting paid." Stahl predicts that there will be long-term impacts for recruitment, attrition and recruitment for the agency. He expects them to worsen the longer workers go without pay and travelers have to wait for hours on end. He states some TSA workers are living paycheck to paycheck, sleeping in their cars or even having blood drawn to afford their expenses."This is going to have knock-on effects also, long-term, to attrition and to recruitment, frankly," said Stahl. "We saw an uptick of 25% attrition after the last shutdown, and so this is going to continue and worsen — not get better, get worse — if we don't get a resumption of normal operations, DHS funded, and money back into our TSA officers' pockets."