This is the current state of the TSA at Logan Airport

Transportation Security Administration workers have begun walking off the job as the partial government shutdown drags into its second month — raising fears of even longer security lines for travelers.

Mike Gayzagian, president of AFGE Local 2617,  the New England branch of the TSA officers’ union, said that a little more than 30 TSA employees in the region have quit, most of them from Logan Airport. About 2,500 agents work in New England. 

“The ones who are staying, they are still there and coming to work every day,” said Gayzagian. “The morale is really low.”

Yet despite the departures, Logan has so far avoided the long security lines plaguing other major hubs. Massport says it isn’t seeing any staffing issues, though a spokesperson noted that the agency will alert the public if that changes. 

TSA’s roughly 50,000 transportation security officers have been working without pay since Feb. 14, as Congress stalls over legislation to fund the Department of Homeland Security. Legislators are at odds over immigration enforcement. 

According to the Trump administration, the absence rate among TSA workers nationwide rose to 10% over the weekend, when airport security agents missed their first full paycheck, USA Today reported. 

The partial shutdown comes only months after the previous 43-day government shutdown that left agents without pay this past fall. 

Around 270 workers at Logan Airport reported having perfect attendance last time, with some even earning a $10,000 bonus. 

Gayzagian said Logan has avoided long lines so far this time around, but he warned that will change as more workers quit. Most officers live paycheck to paycheck, he said, and many support families.

“At the end of the month, if they have not found a way to pay us, then things will start to unwind, and unwind quickly,” he said.

He said restoring the funding now won’t undo the damage. For many officers, this is their first job or first federal job, and “it hasn’t been a good experience.”

“That’s going to leave a bad taste in the mouth, and we will see that in the attrition rates later on,” he said.

He said upcoming events, including FIFA World Cup, Sail Boston, and other summer draws, will require full TSA staffing, and “it’s not looking good.”

“I’m really not sure how long folks will hold out,” Gayzagian said. “We will start feeling the impact by the end of the month if things are not brought to a conclusion by then.”

New wait time technology 

To help flyers, meanwhile, Massport is deploying a new camera system to show real wait times before passengers even arrive at the airport. 

Massport said it is working with a third-party vendor that is using camera analytics to track bodies moving through the TSA line. The cameras do not capture faces or clothing; they only capture the shape of moving lines. From that information, it creates an average estimated wait time. 

A spokesperson said that MassPort is testing the system in Terminal B and verifying accuracy before rolling it out to all terminals in about a month. 

Massport will display the information on the flight screens inside the terminals, on the Massport website, and in the FlyLogan app. 

Although coincidental with the current issues, Massport said the initiative began a while ago as a customer improvement and is not related to the government shutdown. 

Other initiatives include adding therapy dogs, free classic video games, and live music at baggage claim. 

Beth Treffeisen is a general assignment reporter for Boston.com, focusing on local news, crime, and business in the New England region.