O'Hare Airport Was A Living Nightmare Last Weekend

By Rachel Cromidas in News on May 16, 2016 7:17PM

Treacherous security lines turned O'Hare International Airport into a waking nightmare of missed flights, delays and stranded travelers Sunday night.

There's a TSA staffing shortage contributing to long security lines and delays around the country right now. In Chicago, many passengers had to wait two or more hours to get through airport security Sunday, causing 450 people to miss their American Airlines flights, a spokeswoman told the Tribune. Those passengers ended up sleeping in the airline's terminal on cots in hopes of flying out Monday morning.

Many travelers leaving or passing through Chicago took to social media to express their frustrations. On Reddit, one user shared this photo of standing-room-only crowds at O'Hare:

Another user lamented arriving at the airport at 3 a.m., only to wait an hour and 15 minutes merely to get through security, while yet another user complained of a delay flying into O'Hare caused by another delay from a departing airplane that was missing over 40 passengers. And many, many more Tweeted their frustrations, including Chicago expat Chris Hayes:

Midway Airport was a mess, too. As we chronicled last week, lines at Midway's TSA were already getting hairy before the weekend. Prompting one YouTuber to post a psychological thriller of a video of his wait, ending in the question we're all asking: "Are you kidding me, TSA?! What the fuck?"

If you've got a trip coming up, TSA PreCheck may be the way to go. The TSA has been pushing for people to sign up for a 5-year PreCheck program in which, after an $85 background check, they can skip the long lines in favor of slightly less-long lines. There, they'll be able to go through security without taking of their shoes, belts, jackets, etc, or taking their laptops and liquids out of their bags.