Elon Musk offered to cover salaries for TSA personnel amid the ongoing government shutdown. Ella Pellegrini for NY Post Musk’s offer appeared aimed at easing the strain as airport lines grow and staffing pressures build. Major U.S. airports have experienced severe delays, with security wait times exceeding 3 hours in some cases, due to high TSA officer absenteeism. Hardest-hit airports include Houston (HOU, IAH), Atlanta (ATL), New Orleans (MSY), and Philadelphia (PHL). The DHS shutdown has left TSA agents working without pay, causing staffing shortages and long airport lines. AFP via Getty Images Footage from PHL, shot early Thursday morning, showed hundreds of passengers waiting on elevators and escalators to clear a security checkpoint. It comes as a top TSA union leader warned Thursday that airport security risks linked to the shutdown are set to “get worse,” given that TSA has been under a hiring freeze since last year. It remains unclear how Musk’s proposed arrangement would work or whether it would be legally possible for a private individual to fund federal workers. Filed under