Despite hours-long lines at major air travel centers around the country due to a lack of staff at security checkpoints, Boston’s airport has managed to run a steady route throughout the government shutdown.
Nearly 500 TSA workers have quit their jobs nationwide, and thousands more have called in sick due to a 45-day shortage of money at the Department of Homeland Security. At Logan Airport, 29 TSA agents have resigned since Monday, according to Mike Gazyagian, president of AFGE Local 2617, the New England branch of the TSA officers union.
However, wait times at Logan “have not been affected,” said Jennifer Mehigan, a spokeswoman for Massport, the public agency that operates the Boston airport. While the federal government has sent Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers to several airports to try to ease the burden on TSA workers, Mehigan said he “hasn’t heard anything about ICE being in Logan.”
A GBH reporter who had just flown in from Boston during the morning rush hour had no time to wait at security and saw no ICE. The scene was a stark contrast to the images of travel chaos from other major airlines during the bankruptcy.
Boston’s solid performance throughout the shutout has inspired praise from visitors on social media.
“S/o to all the TSA people at Logan airport,” NFL press secretary Albert Breer said eloquently. post to X. “It went down at 7:02 in the morning. I checked the bag and I got coverage at 7:09 in the morning.”
“Logan is the best airport in the country, we know this. They run sh** like the Navy,” another guest wrote.
Asked in an interview how Logan was able to keep wait times to a minimum, Gazyagian — who works as a TSA agent at the airport in addition to attending the regional office — quipped: “You want me to reveal our secrets?!”
In fact, Gazyagian attributed Boston’s stellar performance to a combination of “dedicated employees” and “tremendous support” from the public, the union and Logan’s leadership that helped combat the TSA’s climate financial crisis and continue to show itself to work despite not receiving salaries.
“New England is a different place. We look at things differently,” he said. “We wanted it to work, and everyone came together and supported us.”
Gazyagian said TSA Logan employees received many gifts, including Dunkin’ gift cards, from individual travelers, businesses and Massport itself.
“We’ve had requests for help from [Providence-based non-profit] United Way and the Greater Boston Food Bank,” he said. “Credit unions have been very helpful, locally and regionally. I honestly couldn’t read the whole list, but it was inspiring to see. “
On Friday, President Trump signed an executive order directing the Department of Homeland Security to pay TSA officers immediately. Gazyagian believes that Logan will stop seeing cancellations due to the move and that the airport will continue to see fewer problems with TSA in the coming days.
As of Monday, Gazyagian said, TSA workers in New England have received back pay for two check-in periods. But he added that there has been little communication from the federal government about future payments and it remains “unclear how this will work going forward.”
“This helps, but we want the shutdown to end,” he said. “People are relieved to get the money, but they’re just waiting to see what happens next.”
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