Travel

The Canadian Press - ONLINE EDITION

Homeland Security secretary says delays at 2 major US airports due to government spending cuts

By: Alicia A. Caldwell, The Associated Press

Posted: 03/4/2013 8:20 AM | Comments: 0 | Last Modified: 03/4/2013 1:15 PM

WASHINGTON - U.S. airports, including Los Angeles International and O'Hare International in Chicago, are already experiencing delays in customs waiting lines as a result of automatic federal spending cuts, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said Monday.

Both of those big-city airports routinely suffer security line delays. The Federal Aviation Administration reported Monday there were no significant flight delays in either Los Angeles or Chicago.

Napolitano, who spoke at a Politico-sponsored event on the 10th anniversary of DHS, said delays will become worse. The Transportation Security Administration and Customs and Border Protection agencies, which are part of the Homeland Security Department, are in the process of issuing furlough notices and have cut overtime for employees.

CBP said in a statement later Monday that weekend delays in Los Angeles and Chicago were caused by "reduced primary booth staffing" because of cuts to overtime. CBP said wait times for passengers on 56 arriving flights at John F. Kennedy International in New York exceeded two hours, and passengers on 14 flights waited more than three hours. Delays at Miami International Airport of more than two hours were reported for 51 flights, and passengers from four flights experienced waits of about three hours. CBP said such waits were longer than usual.

TSA, which is responsible for screening passengers entering airports, said travellers can expect longer security checkpoint lines as the agency reduces overtimes and freezes hiring. TSA said in a statement that it expects to have about 1,000 vacancies by Memorial Day and as many as 2,600 by the end of the budget year in September.

Napolitano said she expects a cascading effect during the week, with wait times expected to double in worst cases.

Fact Check

Have you found an error, or know of something we’ve missed in one of our stories? Please use the form below and let us know.

* Required

In which story did you find the error? *
Please post the headline of the story or the title of the video with the error.
What was the error? *
Please post exactly what was wrong with the story.
What should we have written?
Please indicate your source for the correct information.
Who else should we interview to improve this story?
Please include any contact information you may have.
Can we contact you in the future for advice on stories about this topic?
Yes

No
First Name: *
Last Name: *
E–mail Address: *
This will only be used to contact you if we have a question about your submission, it will not be used to identify you or be published.
Phone: *
This will only be used to contact you if we have a question about your submission, it will not be used to identify you or be published.
Colour:
Are you blue? If you can see this, leave it blank and get some CSS support.
Enter the words that you see: * This is to prevent our forms from being filled out automatically.
You have failed to correctly identify the words in the box above. Please try again.

More Travel

Undock

You can comment on most stories on winnipegfreepress.com. You can also agree or disagree with other comments. All you need to do is register and/or login and you can join the conversation and give your feedback.

Have Your Say

New to commenting? Check out our Frequently Asked Questions.

The Winnipeg Free Press does not necessarily endorse any of the views posted. By submitting your comment, you agree to our Terms and Conditions. These terms were revised effective April 16, 2010.