A Transportation Security Administration hiring freeze due to federal spending cuts could mean that security wait times may double.
According to the TSA, wait times may increase, but it won't happen immediately. However travelers will notice big changes by the summer. The TSA expects there to be 1,000 vacancies by Memorial day and 2,600 by the end of September.
"With TSA staffing levels decreasing over time, we expect that during busy travel periods wait times exceeding 30 to 40 minutes could double at nearly all of the largest airports," the agency said in a statement according to USA Today.
"In addition, passengers who schedule their travel outside of peak flight schedules and plan to arrive close to their scheduled flight time may see their wait times now reach 30 minutes or more."
With this announcement, the effects of the $85 billion in spending cuts for government agencies are showing how travel will be affected. Many of the cuts were set to take place today but people may not notice the effects of them until April.
President Obama met with Congress on Friday to try to urge them to prevent the cuts, but no stop was implemented. Obama was pushing to close a tax loophole, but Republicans fought him on this.
The TSA has already stopped hiring certain employees. In January, they stopped training new air marshals. There hasn't been a new air marshal class since September 2011.
"The longer it goes, the greater potential impact it has for us," TSA Administrator John Pistole told lawmakers, USA Today reports. "So we're doing the other things before furloughing."
He noted that delays will become much more apparent during busy travel times such as holidays and school breaks as the TSA will not be able to offer overtime to workers.
"As the passenger traffic builds for spring and summer, that's where we'll see the greatest potential impact," Pistole said.
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
