Airport Bottlenecks Ease as TSA Workers Get Paid, Shutdown Continues

UNITED STATES – Security lines at major U.S. airports are easing after Transportation Security Administration officers began receiving back pay following the partial Homeland Security shutdown.

Wait times that stretched up to four hours in some airports, including Houston, dropped to about 10 minutes Monday, with conditions also improving in Atlanta and Baltimore.

The White House ordered immediate payments to TSA officers last week after hundreds stopped reporting to work during the funding lapse.

But union officials say some employees are still waiting on full payments, as Congress remains deadlocked over funding for immigration enforcement operations.