TSA to close some airport security lanes as shutdown drags on

The Transportation Security Administration plans to begin closing a handful of security checkpoints at airports around the country as soon as this weekend in response to staff shortages triggered by a partial federal government shutdown.

Miami International Airport expects to shut one of its concourses for several days starting Saturday afternoon and will move flights to other gates, according to a statement by the airport.

Separately, a union representing more than 10,000 air-traffic controllers filed a lawsuit Friday in federal court in Washington, charging that it’s illegal to force them and other aviation employees to work without compensation.

More than 51,000 TSA employees have also been on the job without pay since Dec. 22 and missed their first paycheck Friday. On Thursday, the agency saw a 55 percent increase in employees calling in sick, from 3.3 percent a year ago to 5.1 percent, spokesman Michael Bilello said in an email.

Bilello said on Twitter that the TSA is working with “stakeholders and industry partners to explore efforts to consolidate officers and operations.”

Concourse G at the Miami airport will be closed Saturday afternoon through Monday and travelers will be directed to other checkpoints.

Un i t e d C o n t i n e n t a l Holdings operates some flights at that concourse.

“We will work to ensure we do everything we can for our customers and we do not expect any operational impact,” said Frank Benenati, a United spokesman.

TSA hasn’t heard of any other airport planning to shut a concourse like the one in Miami, Bilello said. It’s routine for TSA to open and close screening lanes as volume at airports rises and falls.

Airport security officers, along with air traffic controllers and employees at more than a dozen U.S. agencies and departments, have been caught in a political battle between President Donald Trump and congressional Democrats over whether to fund a border wall with Mexico.

The security screeners and controllers are among workers declared essential to security and safety and have been ordered to work without pay.

The lawsuit filed by the National Air Traffic Controllers Association union charges that Trump, the Federal Aviation Administration and other U.S. officials are violating workers’ constitutional rights by “depriving them of their hardearned compensation without the requisite due process.”

In some cases, the lack of pay is having a “devastating effect” on employees, the suit said.

The FAA declined to comment Friday on the controllers’ lawsuit.

TSA officers screened 1.96 million passengers Thursday.