The Government shutdown is making a huge impact on many TSA employees, A Passenger Got A Firearm Through TSA Screening

A TSA release said:

“TSA has determined standard procedures were not followed and a passenger did in fact pass through a standard screening TSA checkpoint with a firearm at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport on the morning of January 3,”

TSA said the passenger apparently had forgotten the firearm was in their carry-on luggage, according to @CNN. The incident was not part of a test. The security breach came two weeks into the government shutdown, during which TSA agents have been required to work without pay.

Delta Air Lines also issued a statement to CNN, saying that “upon the customer’s disclosure, the airline reported the incident to the TSA.”

Hundreds of TSA screeners have been calling out sick since the shutdown began. The mass call outs happening at at least four major airports could inevitably mean air travel is less secure, especially with no clear end as #Trump has vowed to continue this until he gets funding for his proposed $5 billion border wall.

“This will definitely affect the flying public who we (are) sworn to protect,” said Hydrick Thomas, president of the national TSA employee union.

 

“This problem of call outs is really going to explode over the next week or two when employees miss their first paycheck,” a union official at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport told CNN. “TSA officers are telling the union they will find another way to make money. That means calling out to work other jobs.”