The government has been shut down for 31 days, and now, as the second missed paycheck is approaching, more and more officers are not at work. Most officers now are either calling in “sick” or out due to financial hardships. Furthermore, many of these officers are spending their days trying to get by as they live paycheck to paycheck and wait for food from soup kitchens or food banks.

This weekend absences were at a record high of 10% compared to 3.1% this weekend last year. Even though, the absences have increased most airports have stayed within the 30 minute standard wait time window. However, many of these airports are very close to these numbers, and if the shutdown continues the wait-times will become well over 30 minutes.

The largest and major airports in the countries are feeling the shutdown painfully. The workers at JFK, EWR, ATL, and MIA currently have the highest rates of absence. ATL is the largest airport in the country, and JFK and EWR are vital to travel flow in the Northeast to the rest of the world. Additionally, Chicago and New Orleans wait times are now approaching 45 minutes and are expected to rise to over an hour soon.

As travelers feel the impact of the government shutdown will they become a new source of pressure on the government? Will the TSA workers feel relief soon? How much will wait-times grow? Will the Republicans and Democrats take action together?