If you’ve been following the news, then you know that Atlanta’s airport has been all over the national news. The world’s busiest airport, known for its efficiency and easy-to-navigate system, has been experiencing insanely long TSA wait times, due in part, to the partial government shutdown and TSA staffing shortages.
Some reports show that people waited in TSA lines for four or more hours. Other sources report even higher wait times, even hitting nearly 9-10 hours.
To help alleviate some of the burden for TSA employees who have been working for over a month and a half with no pay, Atlanta legend and iconic filmmaker, Tyler Perry, came in with cash.
The cash solution didn’t exactly work, though…
Unfortunately for Perry, he was quickly told by officials that federal rules prohibit TSA employees from accepting direct cash gifts.
But that didn’t stop Tyler Perry from trying to help. Perry’s team came back with gift cards for an alternate way to help out TSA workers.
According to a report by 11Alive,
Sources said representatives for Perry worked through management, human resources and legal channels before returning to the airport to distribute the gift cards to TSA employees.
But now… TSA employees are being asked to return their cards.
Unfortunately, the story doesn’t have a happy ending there. The ATL airport’s federal security director has since raised concerns about the distribution, and now TSA workers are being forced to “hand back” their gift cards, gifted by Tyler Perry.
11Alive reports,
Sources noted the development has created challenges for some workers, as portions of the funds may have already been used.
As we know updates about this story, we’ll let you know more.