The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey is sending security employees to assist with security and passenger flow at three major airports in the region.
The Port Authority told the Washington Examiner that its civilian security, operational personnel, and Port Authority Police Department officers will help the Transportation Security Administration at John F. Kennedy International Airport, LaGuardia Airport, and Newark Liberty International Airport.
DELTA CUTS SERVICE ALLOWING CONGRESS TO BYPASS TSA LINES UNTIL FUNDING IS RESTORED
“The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey is aware that Transportation Security Administration staffing shortages at John F. Kennedy International Airport, Newark Liberty International Airport and LaGuardia Airport today are resulting in extended security screening wait times in multiple terminals,” the Port Authority said in a statement shared with the Washington Examiner.
“As we have in other irregular situations, including inclement weather, we are assisting TSA to help manage passenger flow and maintain safe and orderly conditions by utilizing civilian security and operational personnel and Port Authority Police officers. However, wait times depend solely on TSA staffing levels.”
The announcement comes as airports nationwide have grappled with long security lines while TSA officers work without paychecks during the continued Department of Homeland Security shutdown. Their unpaid services have decreased morale, prompting hundreds of TSA workers to quit or call out of work.
Nearly 12% of all TSA officers nationwide called out of work on Monday, according to DHS spokeswoman Lauren Bis.
Though the Port Authority officers cannot assist in reducing TSA wait times, they help keep a secure environment in noncritical positions, the Port Authority told the Washington Examiner.
As the DHS shutdown moves into its sixth week, Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers have begun helping the TSA with security screenings at airports to combat the hourslong wait times. ICE officers have still been paid throughout the shutdown due to the mass funding bump the agency got as a result of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.
LAGUARDIA SURVEILLANCE SYSTEM FAILED TO SEND ALERT BEFORE PLANE CRASH, NTSB SAYS
A fatal crash occurred at LaGuardia Airport, which is under the jurisdiction of the Port Authority, late Sunday. An Air Canada flight crashed into a Port Authority fire truck on the runway, leaving both pilots on the jet dead.
The National Transportation Safety Board announced on Tuesday, as part of its preliminary investigation results, that the airport’s surveillance system failed to properly transmit and alert before the fatal collision.
