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ATLANTA (FOX 5 Atlanta) - News of the deal to end the shutdown came just as passengers were feeling the frustration of those long wait times. Delays were evident Friday at Atlanta’s airport, not so much in the skies, but in the security lines.
It brought a moment of joy after a long wait in line for passenger Tamara Greenberg, expressing sympathy for many of the TSA screeners working without pay at Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport.
"It just seems immoral they would be working and not earning money, so for that reason alone, it seems like a moral thing to do," said airline traveler Tamara Greenberg.
For Greenberg and several other passengers, there was a concern for the government employees, and for the effect, it might have on security.
"There are so many risks to the country when you do not have employees working for the government, so many things that we rely on," said Greenberg.
"You know you just kind of take into account your security when you are going through here, with less and less government workers that are here right now, it just kind of puts that bird in your mind as to... What could happen?" asked Trevor Carr who is traveling from Atlanta.
FOX 5 News was there as lines stretched beyond the normal waiting area, into an atrium, and down corridors, with airport employees placing temporary barricades to guide passengers.
"It's like a zoo. A zoo. I’ve been here for more than an hour and it is line after line after line," said Amy Snow, who is traveling from Texas.
"We're already pre-checked in and everything, it doesn't make a difference," said Tonya McElrathbey, who is traveling from Atlanta.
With patience running low and lines running long, the congressional deal came just in time.
"I mean it is a relief, I mean they deserve to be paid, they are working hard, we need them. Clearly. I mean, look," said Snow.