Federal Spending Cuts Already Causing Delays at Major U.S. Airports

Due to the automatic federal spending cuts, major airports are already feeling the effects. Some U.S. airports are already experiencing delays.

According to Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, airports such as Los Angeles International and O'Hare International in Chicago are facing delays. These big airports routinely have delays, but Napolitano says these recent hold ups are due to the spending cuts and it's going to get worse from here, the Associated Press reports.

Napolitano said that the delays will become worse as Transportation Security Administration and Customs and Border Protection agencies are already sending furlough notices and have reduced overtime work for employees.

Napolitano expects the delays to increase as the week goes on and wait times could double at some points.

Earlier this week, the TSA also said that wait times are expected to double, especially during peak travel seasons which include the holidays and times when schools are closed. However they said the delays wouldn't occur right away.

Due to a hiring freeze, 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."

Before the spending cuts took place, many officials tried to warn of the effects of the $85 billion in cuts across government agencies.

"Flights to major cities like New York, Chicago and San Francisco and others could experience delays of up to 90 minutes during peak hours," Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood warned a few weeks ago. "Delays in these major airports will ripple across the country."