ATLANTA — Security wait times at the World's Busiest Airport on Tuesday morning were less than 15 minutes at all four checkpoints, but travelers should not become complacent.
That's the message from airport officials after a frustrating Monday for many airport passengers at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.
On Monday morning, wait times reportedly exceeded 90 minutes for travelers at the main security checkpoint at Hartsfield-Jackson. Wait times for the North and South checkpoints at the Domestic Terminal ran well over one hour.
Wait times at the International Terminal were listed at between 15-and-30 minutes all day long.
Atlanta Airport officials have advised that passengers arrive at the security checkpoints up to three hours before their scheduled departure in order to provide enough time to navigate the security lines and get to their gates before they need to board their flight.
Why are there long wait times at airports?
Last week, the federal Transportation Security Administration said that long wait times being reported by media outlets were not the result of callouts by TSA employees due to the partial federal shutdown.
TSA officials said Monday that crews are continuing to report to work at airports across the nation, though the agency noted a 7.6 percent national rate of unscheduled absences -- about double the rate of the same time a year ago, when the rate was 3.2 percent.
On Wednesday, as the shutdown enters its 25th day, TSA officials are beginning to acknowledge that problems are beginning to occur at some airports around the nation.
Contingency plans at some airports have forced closures and consolidation of some security checkpoints at other airports around the nation.
Operations at Washington-Dulles International Airport and Miami International Airport experienced major delays on Monday.
After major delays at Houston's Bush Intercontinental Airport on Monday, the security checkpoint and baggage screening areas for Terminal B will be closed on Tuesday and Wednesday and passengers will be diverted to checkpoints for Terminals C and E. Flight operations at Terminal B will not be changed, however.
Additionally, TSA officials said the callouts have not compromised airport security standards.
TSA workers are considered "essential employees" and as such, are forced to work despite not having been paid since the shutdown began December 22.
On Monday, air traffic controllers joined the crowds in the airport lobby, holding up signs and handing out pamphlets urging the traveling public to talk to their lawmakers.
"When you're at work, you're thinking about how to keep airplanes separated. Now you're thinking about keeping planes separated and keeping your medical bills paid for, keeping your car paid for, so it's very stressful," said one controller in Atlanta, Dan McCabe, who says the job is already stressful enough without worrying about not getting paid.
McCabe says he feels that politicians in Washington who are still collecting their paychecks have forgotten about them.
"This is no longer a political debate -- it's a human issue," McCabe said.
Officials said more than 51,000 TSA officers remain on the job, though many have called off since the shutdown has started. Some workers were calling out simply because they said they could not afford to pay for childcare or to make ends meet in order to afford to go to work.
Octavius Miller, a TSA employee at Hartsfield-Jackson, said he is taking out a short-term loan to make ends meet and support his infant daughter during this period. “When we do things like this for political show-boating, I feel like the people become pawns, and I feel like me and my coworkers have become pawns in this game,” Miller said. “I have a lot of responsibilities I have to take care of.”
He lives about 45 minutes from the airport and said he keeps working because he wants to make sure he has a job at the end of the shutdown.
What is the wait time at Atlanta's airport?
Click here to check the current wait times at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.