In what one official dubbed the “blue flu,” hundreds of blue-uniformed TSA officials have been calling out sick in recent days as the shutdown stretches on and their salaries go unpaid.
According to a Friday CNN report, the mass call-outs have hit New York’s JFK, Texas’ Dallas-Fort Worth and North Carolina’s Charlotte and Raleigh-Durham airports.
The problem will reportedly only worsen as the shutdown drags on and more paychecks are missed. And as workers call out to take care of children or find other sources of employment, remaining airport officials will have to make some serious decisions: long lines and wait times, or less security?
