Furloughs of government workers haven't even begun, but
airport wait times are already "150 to 200 percent as long as we would normally expect," according to Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano.
"Now that we are having to reduce or eliminate basically overtime both for TSA and for customs, now that we have instituted a hiring freeze ... we will begin today sending out furlough notices,” Napolitano said at an event that was sponsored by Politico.
There were
no significant flight delays in Los Angeles or Chicago, among the cities Napolitano specifically said were having long in-airport security wait times—but once furloughs begin, there are also
expected to be flight delays or scaled-back airline schedules as fewer air traffic controllers are on duty.