HEBRON, Ky. — After a week of long lines, travelers moved faster through airport security checkpoints Monday after TSA agents received a retroactive paycheck that included at least two full pay periods — their first payments in over a month.
While CVG Airport travelers didn’t see as many long lines over the last week, those at other airports haven’t been as lucky, including Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, Houston’s George Bush International Airport and New York City’s JFK Airport.
“I ended up getting there about four hours before the flight took off, and I barely made the flight,” said Chris Camacho, who flew into CVG from ATL on March 23.
WATCH: Travelers see shorter TSA wait times as agents receive first paycheck in over a month
According to Department of Homeland Security acting Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis, “working without pay forced more than 500 officers to leave TSA, and thousands were forced to call out.”
I spoke with travelers coming into CVG from JFK on Monday. Last week, JFK saw up to two-hour waits, but Monday was a breeze, according to travelers.
“TSA was reasonable, I have TSA pre-check that was pretty smooth, but I also was watching the other line, and the lines weren’t very long, surprisingly,” said Ross Adams.
Atlanta was a city that saw some of the longest wait times for TSA, at times up to six hours. One traveler I spoke with on Monday said she was shocked at how short the lines were when she arrived at ATL for her flight.
“We got there expecting three- or four-hour lines, and it was five or 10 minutes, honestly, to get through the security process,” said Hope Ingram.
DHS says that some passengers still may experience delays due to some financial issues, but that they are “working aggressively with USDA’s national finance center to complete processing for the half paycheck they are owed from pay period 3 as soon as possible.
