TSA sick-outs hit 10 percent as government shutdown drags on

Baltimore — Nearly two million people are expected to travel Monday and the system is starting to show the strain of the prolonged government shutdown. One of security checkpoints at Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport is closed due to excessive Transportation Security Administration (TSA) call-outs which are increasingly being blamed on the financial impact of the shutdown.

More than 50,000 TSA workers will miss a second paycheck Friday if the shutdown continues through midweek. Nationwide, TSA sick calls hit their highest point Sunday at 10 percent.

Almost 94 percent of 1.6 million passengers on Saturday were cleared in 15 minutes or less. TSA is acute staffing shortages at major airports in New York City, Atlanta, Chicago and Miami.

Officers have been deployed from other airports to backfill, but TSA said it is increasingly likely airports are going to see security lanes closed.

BWI said the checkpoint closure should have minimal impact on passengers. The airport is holding a food drive for impacted workers.