As the partial government shutdown continues to drag on, many U.S. airports have reported extended wait times for passengers at Transportation Security Administration checkpoints.
TSA workers aren't getting paid due to the lapse in federal funding for the Department of Homeland Security, so a significant number of TSA agents have begun not showing up to work, presumably as they seek supplemental sources of income elsewhere (who could blame them?).
So far, the effects for passengers have varied across the country, with, say, Boston Logan International Airport saying wait times have been relatively normal up to now, while security lines at the airport in Austin, Texas, snake all the way out the door.
For travelers with upcoming flights, it would help to know ahead of time which experience to expect: Can you arrive at the airport close to the usual time? Or should you leave for your flight, like, yesterday?
You can't rely on the official TSA app.
The TSA's official mobile app, MyTSA, ordinarily provides info on airport security wait times. But—surprise!—nobody is updating that data during the partial shutdown.
"Due to the lapse in federal funding," a notice on the app and TSA website states, "this website will not be actively managed."
You can still see an "estimated wait time" for your preferred airport in the app, but the estimate is currently based on a historical average rather than real-time reports.
And since the shutdown is something of an anamoly (though a functioning federal government is starting to feel like the true rarity), the estimated wait times at MyTSA are essentially useless right now.
Where to find accurate TSA wait times online
A more reliable option for passengers seeking info on TSA wait times is to go directly to the airport's website.
Many airports, especially the biggies, post their own estimates online for security wait times, with data supplied by independent sources and updated on a near-constant basis.
Among the busiest hubs that share this info online are Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (where, as of this writing, the wait at the main domestic checkpoint is reportedly 100 minutes—yikes), Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport, Denver International Airport, and New York City's John F. Kennedy International Airport.
And that's just a sampling. Find your preferred airport's website via an internet search to see if the facility supplies its own estimates for security wait times.
Unfortunately, though, you can't depend on every airport's site for this info.
Boston Logan, for example, announced a plan this week to begin posting security wait times online and in the airport's mobile app—but the program isn't scheduled to roll out until mid-April.
What are you supposed to do in the meantime?
One air travel expert advised ABC News viewers to check airports' social media accounts for live updates and to take a look at whether any airports are trending. That could be an unwelcome sign that a facility has gone viral for all the wrong reasons.
Additionally, Business Insider points out that flight-tracking sites such as FlightAware and Flightradar24 might help give you an idea of where trouble spots are, even though those services aren't geared toward security waits directly.
FlightAware's Misery Map, for instance, shows the areas of the country experiencing the most flight delays and cancellations—suggesting where to expect maximum airport chaos.
If the shutdown doesn't end soon, things could only get worse.
While refusing to back funding for the Department of Homeland Security without added restrictions on federal immigration officers, Senate Democrats have proposed funding the TSA and other agencies so that workers can be paid amid ongoing negotiations. Republicans, however, have repeatedly blocked those efforts.
Meanwhile, Adam Stahl, a senior TSA official, warned on Fox News yesterday that "we may have to quite literally shut down airports, particularly smaller ones," if the agency's callout rates continue to climb.
In that scenario you could forget about figuring out when to go to the airport. There'd be no airport to go to.