US travelers are so sick of delays at major airports that they’re turning to an app that isn’t fully functional for insight on how long they’ll be stuck in line.
The MyTSA app, which provides 24/7 access to airport security information and allows travelers to check live security checkpoint wait times, has seen a spike in downloads this month as staffing shortages affect travel at airports across the country.
The partial government shutdown, which began on January 31, means there’s no funding for the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees the Transportation Security Administration.
That means TSA agents aren’t being paid. Business Insider previously reported that over 300 of them have quit since the shutdown began, with even more calling out of work. It also means the data on the MyTSA app isn’t entirely accurate.
“It’s supposed to show you current security wait times, but what’s funny is that it’s not being correctly updated during the shutdown,” Sally French, travel analyst at NerdWallet, told Business Insider. “I’d usually recommend flyers to check it, but not right now.”
It is not clear how often, or which portions, of the MyTSA app are being regularly updated, or how reliable the information presented may be. When opening the app, MyTSA presents a message, highlighted in red, that says “due to the lapse in federal funding, this website will not be actively managed,” — but that hasn’t stopped desperate travelers from trying their luck.
Data from Apptopia shows that the MyTSA app has been downloaded about 8.6 million times since it launched in June 2010, with 1.7 million of those downloads coming just within the last 6 months.
There was a spike in downloads mid November, which coincided with the end of the last government shutdown. The November spike was the largest surge in usage until the most recent one began on March 9th. Since then, Apptopia has found that MyTSA has been the top Travel app in the US App Store, racking up more than 723,000 downloads in less than 10 days.
Its highest overall ranking across all app categories was #5 on March 10, and it experienced its biggest day of downloads on March 11th, with 115,000 installs, according to Apptopia.
When reached for comment by Business Insider, a DHS spokesperson blamed Democrats for the government shutdown and the associated travel delays.
At major airports across the country, massive staff shortages continue, the spokesperson added — more than 40% of TSA staff had called out from work at William P. Hobby Airport in Houston on Tuesday, along with nearly 36% of agents at Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport.
While the MyTSA app may offer a rough sense of what to expect, travelers looking for more reliable, real-time updates may have better luck checking their airport’s official website or social media channels, where some airports are posting more frequent security wait-time updates during disruptions.
For now, the app’s popularity says less about its accuracy and more about the growing uncertainty facing anyone heading to the airport.
