High wait times at Atlanta airport 9 days before Super Bowl

ATLANTA (AP) - The world's busiest airport is experiencing long wait times to get through security just nine days before it expects 150,000 out-of-town visitors for the Super Bowl.

Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport had maximum wait times Thursday of 42 minutes, the highest of the nation's top 42 airports, The Transportation Security Administration said in a statement Friday.

Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport had the second-longest wait time, of 19 minutes.

The long lines greeted passengers in Atlanta again on Friday. It was taking passengers 30 to 45 minutes to get through the main security checkpoint in the domestic terminal Friday afternoon, the airport's website showed.

Transportation Security Administration workers are screening passengers without pay, and absence rates have soared.

In recent days, TSA has closed security checkpoints at Baltimore/Washington International; Houston's Bush Intercontinental Airport; and Miami International Airport.

Atlanta tourism officials say TSA workers from other cities are expected to volunteer at Atlanta's airport for Super Bowl-related traffic. The Super Bowl is on Feb. 3.