TSA: Unscheduled absences hit record high as shutdown reaches one-month mark

The Transportation Security Administration said Monday that unscheduled absences rose to a record high of 10 percent one day earlier as the partial government shutdown reaches the one-month mark. 

“Many employees are reporting that they are not able to report to work due to financial limitations,” the TSA said in a statement.

The agency’s airport security officers are required to work during the shutdown, but aren’t getting paid. 

{mosads}Sunday’s record high compares to the 3 percent of unscheduled absences on the same day last year.

Still, wait times were less than 30 minutes on Sunday for 99.9 percent of passengers, and less than 15 minutes for 93.1 percent, TSA reported. 

Some airports did experience longer than usual wait times, it added. 

At Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport, for example, the maximum standard wait time for passengers was 35 minutes.

The partial government shutdown – now in its 31st day – was sparked by President Trump’s insistence on funding for a border wall in government spending legislation.

On Saturday, he offered to extend protections for some immigrants in exchange for wall funding, but Democrats quickly rejected the offer.