Travelers will likely not see immediate impacts at airport security checkpoints on March 1, when sequestration, an across the board $85 billion cut in federal spending that took effect Friday, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) said.
TSA however warned that "lines and wait times will increase as reductions to overtime and the inability to backfill positions for attrition occur." TSA is a unit of the Homeland Security Department (DHS).
"While wait times can vary on a number of factors, (as) sequestration goes into effect, TSA will put in place a hiring freeze, which will result in up to an additional 1,000 TSO vacancies by Memorial Day Weekend and up to 2,600 vacancies by the end of the fiscal year," TSA said in a statement.
"With TSA staffing levels decreasing over time, we expect that during busy travel periods wait times exceeding 30-40 minute could double at nearly all of the largest airports," TSA said.
"In addition, passengers who schedule their travel outside of peak flight schedules and plan to arrive close to their scheduled flight time may see their wait times now reach 30 minutes or more," according to the TSA.
Visit www.tsa.gov