The TSA line is going through the roof as wait time increases

By Anthony Fandozzi.

TSA is something that you would think would not take a long time. Something that would take maybe five minutes, something that would not take so long could potentially take up your day, not even make you miss your flight. The TSA line has been taking so much time due to the fact that they are not getting paid because the government is not paying them. So, a lot of them are calling out sick or quitting because they are trying to do another job that pays them.

You are probably wondering what TSA is. TSA stands for the Transportation Security Administration, which is airport security. It is where they search people to make sure they are not planning anything dangerous or trying to be dangerous, which has gotten way stricter since 9/11. But I am looking forward to it now, where TSA now makes sure to check your ID so you are not in any sort of trouble with the law. Then you must do a bag check and then go through a metal detector to make sure you do not have a gun or any dangerous objects.

But due to them not signing a new bill, a lot of them call out. This has made ICE have to come, which stands for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. There is now a checking bag process, and they are now helping with TSA jobs. They are not doing the job, but they are making sure the line is organized and that people are not making any kind of trouble.

This has freaked people out. It has resulted in people canceling trips due to the fact that ICE agents are there. Some people are even starting to do paid services where people pay them to wait. You would think this is crazy, because if you told someone this was happening 10 years ago, they probably would not imagine this. But the security level has gone up.

Even people are frustrated. As Tom Dutchman, who was a person waiting in line that I saw, said, “It is very frustrating because I must come to the airport 10 hours earlier, which is what I usually do. I come maybe four hours before, where I must still worry that I am going to miss my flight, which makes me unsure of even flying.”

You can see how frustrated he is, which makes people ask how long you need to wait. Another person I talked to was ICE agent Ron Benmen, where he said, “It has been a process where we have had to manage people, some cooperating and others who have not. But we keep trying to help.”

You can see now that it is going to be a process for everyone, but if this was any sign to get somewhere earlier, especially a flight, this would be the time.