Remember how we advised you last week to consult the website of the airport you're flying out of in order to find reliable estimates for security wait times?
The Transportation Security Administration's MyTSA app isn't a reliable source for that info during the ongoing partial government shutdown, we warned, because the app isn't being maintained during the lapse in federal funding for the Department of Homeland Security.
That's still true; the MyTSA app remains pretty much useless for providing security wait times at the moment.
But now you can't always count on airport websites, either.
The situation at many airports has deteriorated further this week, with thousands of TSA agents not showing up to work because they're not getting paid during the shutdown.
Consequently, security wait times have reportedly reached up to 6 hours at the most affected facilities, such as George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston.
Things have apparently gotten so chaotic and lines have gotten so long that some major airports have now determined they can no longer provide reliable updates on wait times.
A notice posted on the website of New York City's John F. Kennedy International Airport, for instance, reads: "Due to the federal funding lapse, security wait times may be significantly longer than normal. Wait times are subject to rapid change based on passenger volumes and TSA staffing. For these reasons, wait time reporting has been temporarily suspended. Please allow for significantly more time and check with your airline for the current status of your flight."
Similar notices now appear on the sites of other airports that ordinarily provide wait times, such as Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, where the page for TSA wait times has been replaced with a single notice:
"Due to current federal conditions, passengers are advised to allow at least 4 hours or more for domestic and international screenings."
Befitting its especially meltdowny conditions, Houston's George Bush Intercontinental has posted this seemingly harried advisory (which also appears at the top of this page):
"URGENT: 4+ HOUR WAIT TIMES. Government shutdown affecting all TSA checkpoints. Missed flights possible; contact your airline."
Is there any way to get airport wait time estimates right now?
Getting a projected wait time with any specificity beyond "4 hours or more" will be a difficult undertaking at major airports most impacted by the shutdown chaos.
However, other airports, such as Orlando International Airport and Philadelphia International Airport, continue to report security wait times on their websites, which are worth visiting to give you an idea of when to leave for your flight as well as to get other important alerts.
Keep in mind, however, that the posted times are only estimates and things can take a turn for the worse quickly, so still give yourself tons of time to get to the airport before your flight.
And at the facilities with the longest lines, "tons of time" means tons of time. We're talking Zack-Snyder-director's-cut amounts of time. Go now.