Detroit Metro Airport avoids travel chaos as spring break, Easter travel ramp up

Unlike other airports nationwide, travelers at the Detroit Metro Airport aren't seeing many disruptions Saturday morning.

As of Saturday morning, there were less than 15 delays at the airport. Transportation Secrurity Administration wait times are also normal, with both the McNamara and Evans terminals both reporting wait times of less than ten minutes.

Detroit Metro Airport continues to be an outlier among airports nationwide. Travelers at other major airports, like in Atlanta and Houston, are still experiencing TSA wait times of around four hours as the government shutdown stretches on. As traveling picks up for spring break and Easter, wait times are likely to be a problem.

The federal government has attempted to rectify the issue by sending Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers to the busiest airports. This hasn't impacted security wait times. Friday, President Donald Trump said he would take executive action to pay TSA workers who have gone unpaid since the shutdown began over 40 days ago.

Are there flight delays at Detroit Metro Airport?

Detroit Metro Airport is not experience major delays as of Saturday morning. According to the MiseryMap by FlightAware, which tracks delays and cancellations at major airports nationwide, Detroit has seen 15 delays since 6 a.m.

TSA wait times are also normal as of Saturday morning. Both the McNamara and Evans terminals are reporting wait times of less than 15 minutes.

The airport recommends arriving at least 90 minutes prior to a domestic flight and 3 hours before an international flight.

What are the wait times at other airports?

Travelers at the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport have experienced TSA wait times of four hours or more in the last weeks due to the government shutdown. Spring break and Easter travel are likely to have a major impact at the airport, known as the world's busiest.

The airport doesn't post current security wait times but said on its website that travelers should arrive at least four hours early for all flights due to TSA lines.

Friday evening, aviation authorities have issued a ground stop at Washington, D.C.-area airports after an unknown odor was detected at an air traffic control tower in Virginia, the second time in two weeks that a detected smell brought flight operations to a halt. The Federal Aviation Administration issued ground stops at Dulles International Airport, Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport and Baltimore Washington International Airport, according to agency alerts.

This morning, the airport was dealing with the residual effects of the ground stops. At least 35 flights were delayed and two were canceled.

At LaGuardia Airport and John F. Kennedy International Airport, there have been at least 48 delays and 11 cancellations combined, MiseryMap shows. LaGuardia is reporting wait times of less than 10 minutes while JFK is reporting wait times of up to 30 minutes.

Why are wait times so long?

A partial federal government shutdown due to a dispute over funding for the Department of Homeland Security has been ongoing since Feb. 13 after Congress failed to reach a deal on immigration enforcement reforms demanded by Democrats. That halted operational funding for several government agencies, including the Transportation Security Administration, resulting in about 50,000 TSA airport security screeners working without pay, Reuters reported earlier this month.

TSA officers have reportedly quit because they haven't been receiving their paychecks.

To counter the wait times, ICE agents were deployed to airports across the country Monday. The result has not reduced security lines, according to data from affected airports reported by The Washington Post. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt acknowledged that wait times hadn't decreased "as much as we'd like," The Post reported.

Reuters reported the U.S. Homeland Security Department said on Friday it was taking emergency action to pay 50,000 airport security officers who have gone unpaid since mid-February, after work absences brought chaos and long security lines to U.S. airports.

"TSA has immediately begun the process of paying its workforce. TSA officers should begin seeing paychecks as early as Monday," DHS said.

President Donald Trump said on Thursday he would take executive action to pay TSA workers and issued a memo directing the payments Friday.

The TSA said earlier on Friday that nearly 12% of airport security officers did not show up for work on Thursday, the most absences since mid-February.