ALBANY – Major airports around New York and the rest of the nation are facing major security screening delays as TSA screeners call in sick or quit because of no paychecks as a result of the partial shutdown of the federal government, yet a Hudson Valley airport is wide open.
State Assemblyman Chris Eachus (D, New Windsor) couldn’t understand why no planes diverted to New York Stewart International Airport on Tuesday, especially given that LaGuardia was shut down for hours after a fatal crash between a commercial jet and a firetruck on a taxiway.
“We’re hearing of folks waiting recently on TSA lines at the three major New York airports for three, 3 ½ hours, some folks missing their flight because they are not taking the recommendation to show up four hours early, and why would they want to show up four hours early,” he asked. “At Stewart, we have absolutely zero waiting time for TSA, and granted we don’t have the flights that the major airports have, but they could take connecting flights from where we do end up landing.”
Eachus was also miffed as to why ICE officers were assigned to the major airports because, as he put it, he saw many cellphone videos taken by passengers at airports around the country while ICE agents just walked around.