World Cup fans face ‘dire situation’ at US airports with stateside shutdown

Football fans travelling to this summer’s World Cup in the US face disruption amid an ongoing stateside shutdown that threatens a “dire situation” at the nation’s airports, a top transport official has warned.

Members of Congress heard of a “potential perfect storm” with a severe shortage of frontline security staff combined with the arrival of millions of supporters for the Fifa tournament, which kicks off in June.

Ha Nguyen McNeill, acting head of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), told a US House committee that more than 480 officers had quit since the start of the budget stand-off in mid-February, which has seen tens of thousands of workers go unpaid.

There had also been a spike in staff absences “because they simply cannot afford to report to work”, she said.

The situation has led to record long queues, with passengers waiting for more than four hours to get through security checkpoints at some airports.

This had been accompanied by a sharp rise in assaults on staff, added Ms McNeill.

US President Donald Trump has already sent federal immigration agents to assist the TSA and has also said he could deploy National Guard troops.

Ms McNeill said: “As the shutdown drags on, we fear we will continue to lose talented and experienced employees to other jobs that can provide a steady pay cheque.

“Not only is the shutdown decreasing the number of interested candidates, for those we are able to hire they are required to complete four to six months of training before they are certified to work at checkpoints.

“At this point, newly hired officers will not be able to work on the checkpoint until well after the 2026 Fifa World Cup.

“We are facing a potential perfect storm of severe staffing shortages and an influx of millions of passengers at our airports for the World Cup games in less than 80 days.”
Earlier, Ms McNeill told the committee: “Congress and the travelling public should be proud of the excellent job the TSA workforce does to protect our national security.

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“Paying these dedicated employees for the work they are performing should never be a point of debate, and yet, here we are on the 40th day of our third shutdown this fiscal year.”
Highlighting the plight faced by staff, she added: “Many in our workforce have missed bill payments, received eviction notices, had their cars repossessed and utilities shut off, lost their childcare, defaulted on loans, damaged their credit line and drained their retirement savings.

“Some are sleeping in their cars, selling their blood and plasma and taking on second jobs to make ends meet, all while being expected to perform at the highest level when in uniform to protect the travelling public.”
A Democratic proposal to fund the TSA while negotiating reform of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) has been rejected by Republicans.