Houston Airport Terminal closed following the closure of the Government

A terminal at George Bush International Airport in Houston was closed Sunday due to a shortage of security workers unpaid during the partial closure of the government, officials said

In a statement, the airport attributed the closure of Terminal B to "manpower problems" related to the closure, which entered its 22nd day Sunday. A counter and a checkpoint at the Transportation Security Administration were closed at 3:30 pm, the statement said.

"It is especially important to advise @iah 2 hours before your flight," said the Mayor of Houston. Sylvester Turner tweeted . "The shortage of workers in the TSA, unpaid by the closure of the US government, is at the origin of this change."

The time of reopening the terminal was not yet clear. The airport press release states that passengers are directed to other wickets and checkpoints.

A TSA spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment. An automated e-mail response referred to an "interruption of federal funding" and indicated that messages would only be returned after "adoption of the appropriations."

A note posted on the agency's website indicates that the TSA recorded an unscheduled national absentee rate of 7.7% on Sunday morning.

Despite these shortages, a department spokesman tweeted Sunday that "safety standards are not compromised at airports in our country."

outs "hit other US airports. Dallas / Fort Worth recorded a 2% hike in its no-shows earlier this month, while the international airport of Miami shut down one of its halls on Friday after workers visited him twice as sick, according to Reuters.

Airport spokesman Greg Chin said in a statement. Associated Press that the terminal should reopen on Monday.

The TSA, part of the Department of Homeland Security, employs 51,000 agents across the country, many of whom make about $ 30,000 a year.

Rudy Garcia, president of the Dallas-based TSA employee union, said last week that employees who are not paid for their jobs would probably try to make money elsewhere.

Do not have a check to pay your bills, what are you going to do? "He says. something outside of what you do now. "