The government shutdown is entering its third week. Posturing and finger-pointing by both parties has yielded little so far.

Though around 750,000 government employees have been furloughed, many more are classified as essential workers — meaning they must remain on the job without a paycheck to show for it. Though all these people are expected to get paid eventually, the fact that around 18 percent of the population lives paycheck to paycheck suggests that some of these people may be struggling to pay bills and cover essential expenses.

Transportation Security Administration officers and Federal Aviation Administration air traffic controllers are both classified as essential workers, since their roles are deemed critical to keep the national airspace system secure, safe and operational. As the shutdown continues, TSA officers and air traffic controllers will come under increasing stress and could start missing work, perhaps calling in sick at a higher rate than what one would expect.

Since their tasks must still be done to keep the national airspace system operating, others must step up to fill the void.

If the bench of available people becomes exhausted, airport security lanes may have to be shut down, which can slow airport........

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