更新时间:2026年3月25日 / 美国东部时间上午9:46 / CBS 新闻
休斯顿机场的旅客对 TSA(美国运输安全管理局)因严重人员短缺导致的似乎永无止境的安检队伍表示震惊和难以置信。
“这太离谱了,”一名旅客说。“这是我一生中第一次经历这种事,”另一名旅客表示。
在乔治·布什洲际机场,由于36%的TSA人员因部分政府停摆(其工资已被冻结)缺勤,安检队伍蜿蜒穿过地下、各航站楼,甚至延伸到机场外。
周三上午在安检队伍中被发现的有前美国司法部长比尔·巴尔,他已等待了两个小时且时间还在增加。
来自波士顿的内·德里克(Nay Dedrick)表示,周一她在休斯顿漫长的安检队伍中等待了“6到8小时”,因此错过了航班,她在机场睡了一晚,第二天再次尝试,最终周二下午才到家。
“当时只有2名TSA人员在工作,”她告诉CBS新闻波士顿分社。“队伍从楼下开始,一直排到地下室,然后又一路延伸到三楼。”
一些旅客表示,他们并不责怪TSA人员造成长时间等待,而是指责政府在资金问题上陷入僵局。
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立法者正在就重启国土安全部(TSA和ICE均受其监管)的资金进行谈判。周二,参议院共和党人向民主党人提交了一项提案,该提案将为该部门大部分项目提供资金,但不包括ICE的驱逐部门。
然而,民主党人到目前为止拒绝在不改革该机构移民执法行动的情况下达成协议。
“我们需要强有力的、非常严格的改革,我们需要控制ICE,”参议院少数党领袖查克·舒默在国会大厦表示。
在僵局中,特朗普政府已部署ICE官员和其他国土安全部特工前往全国14个机场,协助旅客通过拥挤的TSA安检口。
“我们的政客没能解决这个问题是不可原谅的,而我们仍有安全人员在没有薪水的情况下仍坚持工作,我们应该为他们的坚守点赞,”联合航空公司首席执行官斯科特·柯比(Scott Kirby)告诉CBS新闻。
“情况一天比一天糟,”他说。“但最疯狂的是……这才会促使我们的政客解决问题。对我来说,这太荒谬了,事情必须变得糟糕他们才会达成协议。”
“但请尽快达成协议,”他敦促立法者。
漫长的安检队伍并非旅客唯一的挫折。柯比表示,由于伊朗战争导致油价上涨,他的航空公司今年夏天将削减约5%的航班,并提高机票价格。
“上个月机票价格可能上涨了15%到20%,”他指出,这些涨幅无法完全覆盖燃料成本的增加。
然而,他表示,夏季预订情况仍然“非常好,需求达到了历史最高水平”。
Shock and disbelief at Houston airport as 36% of TSA officers call out of work: “This is insane” – CBS News
Updated on: March 25, 2026 / 9:46 AM EDT / CBS News
Travelers at a Houston airport voiced shock and disbelief over seemingly endless TSA security lines caused by a severe staffing shortage.
“This is insane,” one traveler said. “This is the first time I’ve experienced something like this in my entire life,” said another.
The line at George Bush Intercontinental Airport snakedunderground, across terminals and even outside as 36% of TSA officers there called out of work amid a partial government shutdown that has frozen their paychecks.
Among those spotted in the security line Wednesday morning was former U.S. Attorney General Bill Barr, waiting for two hours and counting.
Nay Dedrick of Boston said she missed her flight after waiting “6 to 8 hours” on Monday in the long security line in Houston, so she slept at the airport and tried again the next day, finally arriving home Tuesday afternoon.
“TSA was only 2 people working,” she told CBS News Boston. “The line started downstairs and went all the way down to the basement, and then it goes all the way back up to the third floor.”
Some travelers said they don’t blame TSA officers for the substantial wait times, but instead blame the government, which is deadlocked over funding.
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Talks are ongoing among lawmakers to restart funding for the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees both TSA and ICE. Senate Republicans on Tuesday sent a proposal to Democrats that would fund most of the department, except for ICE’s deportation division.
Democrats, however, have so far refused to strike a deal without reforms to the agency’s immigration enforcement operations.
“We need strong, strong reforms, and we need to rein in ICE,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said at the Capitol.
Amid the deadlock, the Trump administration has deployed ICEofficers and other Homeland Security agents to 14 of the nation’s airports to help shuttle passengers through overcrowded TSA checkpoints.
“It’s unconscionable that our politicians haven’t gotten this done, and then we have security agents that are not being paid and they’re still showing up, and kudos to them for doing that,” United CEO Scott Kirby told CBS News.
“It gets worse every day as it goes by,” he said. “But the crazy thing about this is that … that’s what causes our politicians to get it done. Like, it’s just ridiculous to me, that it has to get bad before they can get a deal done.”
“But please, get the deal done soon,” he urged lawmakers.
Long security lines aren’t the only frustration for fliers. Kirby said higher oil prices as a result of the Iran war are forcing his airline to cut about 5% of flights this summer and raise the price people pay for airline tickets.
“Airfares are up probably 15 to 20% in the last month,” he said, noting that the hikes don’t fully cover the higher cost of fuel.
He said, however, that summer is still “booking really well, and demand is the strongest it’s been ever.”
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