WASHINGTON, (AFP) — Travelers at US airports are already being greeted with longer lines and delays due to government spending cuts launched last week, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said Monday.

Napolitano warned that the lines for customs and security clearance could double as the spending cuts, called the sequester, begin to hit government departments after they came into effect on Friday.

“We are already seeing the effects at some of the ports, the big airports, for example. Some of them had very long lines this weekend,’’ she said, mentioning the Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport and Los Angeles International Airport.

“The New York airports got through okay, but that’s going to be temporary. We will see these effects cascade over the next week,’’ due to the sequester’s impact on the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and airport customs enforcement, she said.

Homeland Security would start Monday to send out notices of temporary furloughs, or unpaid leave, to its employees that will begin in April, she said at an event hosted by Politico magazine.