Spring-break flyers told to reach Hobby 5 hours early
Houston's William P. Hobby Airport warned passengers to arrive four to five hours before departure after security lines stretched past the three-hour mark on Sunday. The airport posted the guidance on social media as travelers posted videos of queues curling into the parking garage. TSA agents have worked without pay since the partial shutdown that began Feb. 14 when Congress failed to extend Department of Homeland Security funding.
New Orleans line hits 2 hours, airport urges 3-hour early arrival
Louis Armstrong International Airport told travelers to show up at least three hours early and warned that waits could stay at two hours all week. Mayor Helena Moreno blamed the backup on unpaid TSA screeners calling in sick. "We've got really, really long lines at the airport, and, from talking to the airport officials, it appears that this has to do with the funding bill in Congress," she said in an Instagram video. Jessica Andersen Alexie and her two children, 10 and 13, returned to New Orleans from the World Baseball Classic. They reached Houston's Hobby Airport three hours early but missed their flight. After spending 3½ hours in the CLEAR lane, they landed in New Orleans to find another security line spilling into the parking garage.
Airlines group: screeners are 'too important to be used as political leverage'
Airlines for America president and CEO Chris Sununu demanded that Congress and the Trump administration "act with urgency to reach a deal that reopens DHS and ends this shutdown." The trade group expects record spring-break traffic and says carriers have already added staff and aircraft. The House passed a full-year DHS bill 221-209 last week, but a Senate version received only 51 votes, nine short of the 60 needed.
Democrats want ICE, Border Protection split from other DHS budgets
Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) said Sunday that Democrats will fund the Coast Guard, FEMA, TSA and Cybersecurity units immediately if Republicans agree to debate ICE and Customs and Border Protection reforms separately. "Let's just pass those funding bills. Let's confine the ICE and CBP reform discussion just to those two agencies," Kaine told reporters. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer tied the demand to the January fatal shootings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti by federal agents in Minneapolis, saying, "we need to rein in ICE and end the violence."
Family reroutes twice, finally reaches home after 12-hour detour
Alexie checked rental-car availability while standing in line, found none, then grabbed three last-minute seats on an afternoon flight once other stranded passengers canceled. "It was nuts," she said. "It was crazy."
