Wait times at security checkpoints have plummeted at Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, which was one of the hardest hit by Transportation Security Administration staffing shortages. While last week it warned passengers of four-hour lines, its website listed waits of less than five minutes at all checkpoints just after 6:20 a.m. ET.
Since Iran virtually shut down the vital Strait of Hormuz this week - through which tanker ships carry 20% of the world's supply - crude oil prices have skyrocketed, and jet fuel prices in some markets have reportedly doubled. U.S. jet fuel prices jumped by 58% during the first week of the war, and United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby said the impact on airfares will "probably start quick."
A startling message came over the radio from an air traffic control tower near Los Angeles less than a week into the federal government shutdown: "The tower is closed due to staffing." Without enough air traffic controllers to guide planes into and out of Hollywood Burbank Airport, the tower went dark for almost six hours on Oct. 6, leaving pilots to coordinate their movements among themselves.
