Houston Travelers Turn TSA Chaos Into $65-an-Hour Line-Sitter Market

Travelers are so fed up with TSA delays during the Homeland Security shutdown that some are now paying strangers to stand in airport security lines for them, turning a staffing crisis into a side hustle. The catch is that the workaround is getting attention just as federal officials try to bring the backlog under control.

According to The Washington Post, Houston-based entrepreneur Steven Dial and New York line-waiting operator Robert Samuel began marketing or discussing paid “line sitter” services as airport waits stretched for hours. The Houston Chronicle reported Dial was charging $65 an hour plus parking at George Bush Intercontinental, where lines had recently snaked across multiple floors.

Reuters reported DHS said TSA officers should start seeing paychecks again by Monday after weeks without pay, but the staffing damage is already significant. AP reported more than 450 officers had quit during the shutdown, while Reuters said absences hit nearly 12% on Thursday alone.

That leaves the story in a strange place: the line-sitter market is real, but so is the possibility that it fades if airport staffing and wait times improve.

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