SAN MARCOS, Calif. (KGTV) - A San Marcos woman missed her flight to visit her ailing father after waiting three hours in a security line at San Diego International Airport amid the partial government shutdown.
Tracey Goodnough arrived at the airport around 3:30 a.m. Tuesday for a 6:15 a.m. Delta flight to Detroit, which was delayed until 6:30 a.m.
Goodnough said the kiosks to get tags for her bags were not working, and she did not reach the back of the security line until 4:40 a.m.
"I was really stressed because I really wanted to get to my dad," Goodnough said. "I never seen a line like this, and I travel a lot… at one point, it was into the street.”
Goodnough realized the line included many travelers with flights later than hers.
"They were informing me their flights were at 11 a.m., 12 a.m., as they heard horror stories about missed flights," Goodnough said.
Goodnough said she saw the reason the line was barely moving.
"The TSA agents are spread thin. They had to go to other areas to help and check IDs, so the line was at a standstill,” said Goodnough. “People were trying to help each other, holding places so people could go to the bathroom. I was sharing snacks, trying to entertain kids. There were a lot of meltdowns. I felt bad for the kids.”
Despite people helping each other, Goodnough said the mood eventually switched to frustration and panic.
"It was chaos, two lines were merging into one, and people were trying to go ahead of everybody. Some people were trying to go under the ropes,” Goodnough said.
Goodnough exited the security area around 7:30 a.m., but her flight was already gone. She says at least 20 other people missed the flight.
She said the next flight was fully booked, and she declined a standby seat. Delta refunded her ticket.
"Fortunately for my dad, I have other siblings there taking care of him. He asked me to wait until after the government shutdown. I am going to do that. I don't want to go through that again," Goodnough said.
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