Thousands of passengers are stuck at US airports because of the shatdaun

Hundreds of Transportation Security Administration agents refused to work at major airports throughout the United States, which led to a real collapse for thousands of passengers.

Employees massively go to the hospital because they do not want to work for free during the closure of the government, which has been going on for the third week, writes The Daily Mail.

The result is huge crowds of travelers stranded at major hubs, including New York's LaGuardia and John F. Kennedy international airports, as well as Dallas-Fort Worth, Charlotte, Salt Lake City, Minneapolis Saint-Paul and Bradley International in Connecticut.

The waiting time at Delta Airlines terminal at LaGuardia airport on Sunday was about 90 minutes, and the TSA Precheck pre-inspection, which usually accompanies the security check, was completely closed.

TSA agents are among the 420 federal employees who are contractually obligated to work during the government shutdown and without pay, so many have decided to use sick days to avoid working for free. Employees of other agencies have been suspended from work and are not receiving salaries.

More than 51 thousands of agency employees are involved in the airport verification process, primarily designed to work with people traveling within the United States.

Some travelers wrote in social networks that they asked TSA agents if they could be given a tip because they did not receive a salary, while others offered to donate food to them.

During the past week, 170 TSA agents have worked daily at JFK. According to CNN, many had to work overtime to fill service gaps due to the current situation.

At Dallas-Fort Worth Airport, the number of self-withdrawing TSA employees increased by 200% -300%.

Staff shortages also affected Charlotte and Raleigh-Durham airports in North Carolina. These two airports reported that the number of TSA employees who do not fulfill their duties is 10% higher than usual.

On Sunday, passengers reported long lines at Seattle – Tacoma International Airport, Salt Lake City Airport in Utah, and Bradley International Airport in Connecticut.

A passenger at Washington's Spokane International Airport said that there were “very long lines everywhere”, but TSA employees “are still working hard and smiling, despite the fact that they are not getting paid.”

Some passengers at Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport shared photos of the lines. One Twitter user wrote that she "asked the TSA agent if I should take my laptop out of its case and she said I don't care, I'm not getting paid." This happened at the same airport.

“If you have spouses, family, friends who can help you stay afloat until you get your paycheck, it's really not too bad. But not everyone is in that boat,” a TSA officer told reporters when asked about working without pay.

The TSA is one of the lowest-paid federal agencies, with a typical starting salary of about $17 per year. Losing a day's pay for someone with that income can "completely impact how you manage your livelihood," says Giedrick Thomas, a union member of the American Federation of Government Employees.

Although this may be perceived as a form of protest, union officials believe that TSA employees basically have a second job to pay bills.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) denied information about the massive refusal of employees to perform their duties, insisting that "safety performance will not suffer and performance standards will not change."

A DHS spokesperson spoke out on a personal Twitter account after news came out that non-payment of about 800 thousands of civil servants could greatly affect travelers and their safety. Claiming that “fake news has distorted much” figures relating to the airline industry, Tyler Houlton denied that this creates a vulnerability and an increased burden on the remaining workers.

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