As shutdown continues and TSA agents call out sick, agency preps contingency plan

By JEFFREY COOK Jan 7, 2019, 2:35 PM ET

With its screeners facing the possibility of their first missed paycheck on Friday, the Transportation Security Administration is preparing contingency plans so airport security standards do not suffer in case employee call-outs increase further and begin to have an effect on wait times, spokesperson Michael Billelo told ABC News.

If TSA secures congressional funding before the agency's scheduled payday, the screeners would likely not miss a payday during the government shutdown. But it remains unclear when the pay hiatus will end.

The agency confirmed on Friday that more screening officers than usual have called in sick since the holidays and the lapse in funding began, but said the bump has not had an effect on security.

"Call outs began over the holiday period and have increased, but are causing minimal impact given there are 51,739 employees supporting the screening process," Bilello tweeted on Friday. "Security effectiveness will not be compromised and performance standards will not change. Wait times may be affected depending on the number of call outs."

According to his tweet, 5.5 percent of the agency's workforce at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport called out sick on Friday compared to the usual 3.5 percent.

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