The #TransportationSecurityAdministration is reporting that a passenger got on a #Delta flight at Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport and flew to #Tokyo with a firearm in their carry-on.
“TSA has determined standard procedures were not followed and a passenger did in fact pass through a standard screening TSA checkpoint with a firearm at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport on the morning of January 3,” a #TSA release said.
TSA said the passenger apparently had forgotten the firearm was in their carry-on luggage, according to @CNN. The incident was not part of a test. The security breach came two weeks into the #governmentshutdown, during which TSA agents have been required to work without pay.
Delta Air Lines also issued a statement to CNN, saying that “upon the customer’s disclosure, the airline reported the incident to the TSA.”
As we previously reported, hundreds of TSA screeners have been calling out sick since the shutdown began. The mass call outs happening at at least four major airports could inevitably mean air travel is less secure, especially with no clear end as #Trump has vowed to continue this until he gets funding for his proposed $5 billion border wall.
“This will definitely affect the flying public who we (are) sworn to protect,” said Hydrick Thomas, president of the national TSA employee union.
Call outs have increased by 200%-300% at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport, where typically 25 to 30 TSA employees call out from an average shift, according to TSA officials familiar with the situation.
Union officials stress that the absences are not part of an organized action, but they do believe the number of people calling out will likely increase.
“This problem of call outs is really going to explode over the next week or two when employees miss their first paycheck,” a union official at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport told CNN. “TSA officers are telling the union they will find another way to make money. That means calling out to work other jobs.”
Other affected airports include those in North Carolina airports, specifically Charlotte and Raleigh-Durham, which have experienced 10% higher TSA call outs, according to Mac Johnson, the local union president. “That number will get worse as this drags on.”
The call outs are “creating a vulnerability” and screeners are “doing more with less,” Johnson added.
Two of the sources, who are federal officials, described the sick outs as protests of the paycheck delay. A union official, however, said that while some employees are upset about the pay, officers have said they are calling in sick for more practical reasons such as single parents who can no longer afford child care.
We’ll keep you up-to-date on this story #Roommates and all shutdown-related news!
TSR STAFF: Christina C! @cdelafresh
