Chaos At PHL: Why Lines Snaked Through Philly Airport In Viral Videos

PHILADELPHIA — Photos and videos of long lines at Philadelphia International Airport (PHL) are circulating on social media. But an airport spokesperson says the social-media posts captured an early-morning rush that has calmed down since.

Three of the airport's TSA security checkpoints have been temporarily closed over the past week because of the federal agency's staffing shortage, including two that closed on Wednesday.

• Read more: More Philly Airport TSA Checkpoints Shut Down; Longer Wait Times Expected

Social media posts on Thursday have shown lines snaking through the airport, including posts below from CBS Philadelphia's Brandon Goldner and Fox 29's Morgan Parrish.

Both posts were shared early Thursday morning.

Airport spokesperson Heather Redfern said the online posts came when PHL's first security checkpoint opened on Thursday. The longest wait time was 44 minutes, Redfern says.

"Those posts and videos were taken at the D/E checkpoint area not long after it opened," Redfern told Patch via email. "Passengers were moving through the line. There is also always staff on-hand to direct passengers through the lines."

PHL updates wait times for each security checkpoint online. The longest wait time as of 2:30 p.m. Thursday was 12 minutes at Terminal B, according to the webpage.

Three of the airport's six security checkpoints — Terminals A-West, C and F — have closed over the past week because of the TSA staffing shortage during the partial federal government shutdown.

As a result, PHL recommends arriving 2.5 hours before domestic flights and 3.5 hours before international flights.

All terminals remain open past security, and you can reach them through any open checkpoint.

Here's where travelers should go through security if their terminal's checkpoint is closed:

• Flying from A-West: use the A-East checkpoint.
• Flying from C: B checkpoint.
• Flying from F: D/E checkpoint.

The partial federal government shutdown began Feb. 14 and impacts Department of Homeland Security funding, which includes TSA.

Thousands of TSA workers have worked without pay since then, leading to a significant portion of the workforce quitting or calling out.

The shutdown stems from disputes in Congress about reforms to federal immigration enforcement, following the fatal shootings of Alex Pretti and Renée Good in Minneapolis.

An Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent shot Good in early January. Customs and Border Protections agents shot Pretti a few weeks later.

The funding dispute caused a partial shutdown Jan. 31. But it ended four days later when a resolution extended negotiations by two weeks.