More flights canceled or delayed as weather, TSA staffing upend travel

4 days ago 12

Air travelers faced hundreds of formation cancellations and thousands of delays connected Tuesday successful the aftermath of powerful storms that struck the Midwest and Eastern Seaboard. Many airports besides proceed to conflict with disruption from reduced staffing astatine often-jammed information checkpoints amid a partial authorities shutdown that has lasted much than a month.

The partial shutdown that started Feb. 14 has held up paychecks for employees of the Transportation Security Administration arsenic Congress deadlocked implicit migration issues. More than 300 TSA staffers person discontinue since the shutdown began, and call-out rates person much than doubled, according to information obtained exclusively by CBS News.

Sunday and Saturday saw the highest and second-highest telephone retired rates truthful far, TSA information show.

At the aforesaid time, airports are crowded with outpouring interruption travelers and fans heading to March Madness games arsenic the yearly NCAA men's and women's assemblage hoops tournaments ramp up.

More than 900 U.S. flights person been canceled arsenic of Tuesday morning, and much than 2,600 were delayed, according to flight-tracking tract FlightAware.

Flight delays and cancellations besides piled up Monday astatine immoderate of the nation's largest airports, including those successful New York, Chicago and Atlanta. The tempest strategy that dumped dense snowfall crossed the Midwest raced toward the East Coast with precocious winds reaching gusts adjacent 50 mph successful parts of New York, the National Weather Service said.

Kelly Price, who was trying to get location to Colorado aft a household abrogation successful Orlando, Florida, said her Sunday nighttime formation wasn't canceled until aboriginal Monday.

"By that clip the lone spot for america to slumber was the airdrome floor. So we're each bushed and frustrated," she said, adding that the soonest she and her household could publication different formation doesn't permission until Tuesday afternoon.

The nationwide cancellations connected Monday included astir 600 flights successful and retired of Chicago O'Hare International, much than 470 astatine Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson International and implicit 450 astatine LaGuardia Airport successful New York City, according to FlightAware.

Citing terrible weather, the Federal Aviation Administration ordered crushed stops astatine Hartsfield-Jackson and Charlotte Douglas International Airport and crushed delays astatine JFK and Newark Liberty International Airport.

Danielle Cash recovered herself stranded successful St. Louis connected Sunday portion trying to get location to Tampa, Florida, aft a play girls' travel to Las Vegas. Now she's spending respective 100 dollars much than planned connected a edifice country successful a snowy metropolis she wasn't dressed for.

"It was 80 degrees successful Tampa erstwhile I near and past going to Vegas," she said. "And it was 90 degrees successful the desert."

Cash said she's present booked connected a formation that volition instrumentality her to Tennessee earlier yet returning to Tampa by Tuesday afternoon.

Partial authorities shutdown

The existent partial authorities shutdown affects lone the Department of Homeland Security, which includes the Transportation Security Administration.

Democrats successful Congress person said they won't ballot for backing Homeland Security until caller restrictions are placed connected national migration operations pursuing the fatal shootings of Alex Pretti and Renee Good successful Minneapolis earlier this year.

It is the 3rd shutdown successful little than a twelvemonth to permission TSA workers temporarily without pay. Once the authorities reopens, employees volition person to hold for backmost pay.

Some airports person reported longer information lines due to the fact that of staffing shortages arsenic much TSA workers instrumentality connected 2nd jobs, can't spend state to get to enactment oregon permission the assemblage altogether. Homeland Security has said much than 300 TSA agents person discontinue since the commencement of the shutdown.

TSA national leaders successful Atlanta held a quality league Monday extracurricular Hartsfield-Jackson, informing that aerial travelers could look progressively agelong hold times arsenic the shutdown continues. Even so, national leaders said, galore officers are inactive reporting to enactment contempt mounting fiscal strain.

Many TSA workers "are coping with eviction notices, conveyance repossessions, bare refrigerators and overdrawn slope accounts," said Aaron Barker, a section person with the American Federation of Government Employees. Supporters down him held signs reading, "We privation a paycheck, not a rainfall check."

Travelers flying retired of New Orleans connected Sunday and Monday were advised to get astatine slightest 3 hours aboriginal "due to impacts from the national government's partial shutdown," Louis Armstrong International Airport said connected X. And the airdrome successful Austin, Texas, shared a video connected X taken astatine 5:30 a.m. section clip showing the information enactment spilling retired onto the sidewalk outside.

Back successful Atlanta, Mel Stewart and his woman arrived 4 hours earlier than accustomed for their formation retired of Hartsfield-Jackson to marque up for longer TSA lines.

"I deliberation it's being politicized mode excessively overmuch — mode excessively much," Stewart said Monday of the shutdown. "And these radical are working. They enactment hard, and for TSA radical not to get paid, that's silly."

Mark Strassmann contributed to this report.

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