US says it may be forced to shut down some airports over funding standoff

Passengers walk through a queue to enter a TSA security checkpoint at Ronald Reagan International Airport in Arlington, Virginia., Sunday.

Passengers walk through a queue to enter a TSA security checkpoint at Ronald Reagan International Airport in Arlington, Virginia., Sunday. (Aaron Schwartz, Reuters )


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WASHINGTON — A senior Trump ​administration official said Tuesday that if a government ‌funding standoff continues, it may force ⁠the shutdown ​of some ⁠smaller airports in the ‌coming weeks ‌over a lack of security ⁠personnel.

The partial ⁠government shutdown has forced 50,000 Transportation Security Administration airport security officers to work without pay for the ‌last month and ​10% of them did not show up for work on Sunday.

"As the weeks continue, if this continues, it's not hyperbole to suggest ​that we may ‌have to ‌quite ⁠literally shut down airports — particularly smaller ones— if callout rates go up," acting ‌deputy TSA administrator ​Adam Stahl told ‌Fox News.

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