TSA agents have a pretty serious mandate. They’re responsible for effectively screening passengers and their luggage to ensure safety and security. But sometimes, you just have to slow things down so you and your six coworkers can belt out a tune, like a video captured at Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas. 

TSA agents at Harry Reid International Airport staged a seven-person choir while passengers waited in line

Even world-class optimists have gripes about modern air travel. Maybe it’s the abuse of the “one bag, one personal item” policy. Perhaps it’s flight-goers listening to videos and yelling through video calls at full volume without headphones. Or it could be the age-old complaint of negotiating security lines and TSA agents to get to a gate.

Then you have Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas, Nevada. It’s the No. 8 busiest airport in the United States, just behind John F. Kennedy International Airport and Orlando International Airport, for obvious reasons. Add REAL ID mandates and the business of Memorial Day weekend, and you’ve got a formula for delays. That should be enough, right? Not if you’re the TSA team at Harry Reid. No, the busy Friday before Memorial Day seemed like the perfect opportunity to showcase some singing skills.

A popular video on Instagram shows bin after bin of carry-on bags awaiting physical inspections, many more than you would typically expect. A moment later, the camera spins around to reveal a seven-person choir belting out tunes. Granted, stranger things happen at airports. After all, you can catch loads of live music cruising through Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, depending on the time of year.

Unfortunately, however, this was a choir made up entirely of TSA agents. The very blue-shirt-clad employees you’d expect to be inspecting bags, directing foot traffic, and otherwise easing the slowdown. Make no mention of the quality of their vocal performances. Worse yet, this wasn’t a show-up-and-belt-it-out scenario. There was a sound board, microphones, speakers, and a stage.

Needless to say, the display wasn’t well-received online. “Pissing people off with inspirational music is wild. It’s like an episode of The Office,” one viewer commented. Boom, roasted. Another commenter said, “Imagine you’re about to miss your flight but the management thinks you need to be entertained.” Granted, this may have been an assignment separate from security. But it’s not what you want to see while you’re waiting in a slow-moving security line.