Question: On March 8, I was dropped off at United Airlines at the Honolulu airport to start a flight. I had to walk the entire length of the airport to clear TSA and then walk exactly again back across the airport and then out to the G gates. This took me the better part of almost two hours! The people at the gate told me many people miss their flights and this has been happening since the government shutdown in December! This is ridiculous! I’m a 70-year-old woman and this walk injured my knee. I was forced to use wheelchairs for the rest of my flight. Is there a fix coming?

Answer: The airport map (808ne.ws/hnlmap) shows nine U.S. Transportation Security Administration security checkpoints, including one near where you were dropped off. But that checkpoint in Terminal 2, closest to the G gates, was closed when you needed it, according to your followup email: “I started (between) Lobby 7 and 8, United Airlines. I walked through the entire airport, passing several TSA checkpoints that were closed. At the end past Lobby 4, they checked us through to go back across the entire airport shops and gates” to reach gate G3. You said you used the only security line you saw open.

The TSA staffs checkpoints based on expected passenger loads; every security line isn’t open at all times. In your case, a change in the departure gate may have been a factor, although TSA spokeswoman Lorie Dankers couldn’t say for sure. She insisted it had nothing to do with the partial federal government shutdown, which lasted from Dec. 22 to Jan. 25. Also, the TSA is hiring now in Honolulu.

Here’s her full response, which refers to HNL, the federal code for the Honolulu airport:

“TSA staffs security checkpoints at HNL based on projected passenger volumes that are developed in conjunction with the airlines. Based on those projections, TSA puts its staffing resources at the largest security checkpoints to increase the efficiency of the overall screening operation. TSA closely monitors passenger volumes, and checkpoints throughout the airport are opened and closed based on a dynamic scheduling matrix driven by these passenger volumes.

“The peak departure travel times at HNL are 9 a.m. to noon. Travelers should plan ahead and arrive at the airport early enough to ensure that all steps in the airport travel process can be completed, including parking a vehicle, checking in with the airlines and checking a bag, going through security and getting to the departure gate regardless of the gate’s location in the airport. Keep in mind that airlines are routinely boarding flights 40 minutes prior to flight departure, making an early arrival critical to the overall travel experience.

“While we are unable to validate the reader’s scenario, it is possible that a gate change or some other factor outside of the control of TSA required transiting the airport. To reiterate, we can assure all travelers that TSA checkpoints are staffed based on projected passenger flow developed in consultation with the airlines.

“Regarding staffing at HNL, there is no shortage of Transportation Security Officers (TSOs), and operations before, during and after the well-publicized government shutdown were not disrupted. In late February, TSA hosted a long-planned recruitment event to hire TSOs and more than 400 people attended the one-day event. We are in the process of hiring additional TSOs to work at HNL to keep up with current and projected growth in the number of passengers departing HNL. We will continue to monitor our operations to ensure that we are fully staffed for the busy summer travel season and beyond.”

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