Not all heroes wear capes. Robert Samuel certainly does not.
Instead, the Manhattanite dons a black hat embroidered with yellow lettering that reads “#LineDudes.”
But his lack of superhuman regalia doesn’t make the professional line sitter any less of a champion to the Tri-State area travelers who’ve paid him to wait in frustratingly long Transportation Security Administration (TSA) lines at NYC airports on their behalf.
Amid the 42-day Department of Homeland Security (DHS) shutdown, the demand for atypical assistance is at an all-time high — much like TSA wait times across the country.
The weeks-long cessation, prompted by funding and reform disputes, has forced 50,000 airport security officers to work unpaid. The chaos has triggered a mass exodus — causing headache-giving delays at airports nationwide, with some reportedly extending up to five hours.
And while Congress finally advanced a bill to fund most of the DHS Friday, until an agreement is officially reached, Samuel, alongside other line sitter providers across the country, are coming to the rescue.
“We’re currently receiving inquiries about sitting in TSA lines at LaGuardia and JFK,” Samuel, 50, founder of Same Ole Line Dudes, a placeholding concierge service, exclusively told The Post. “We charge $25 per hour with a 2-hour minimum booking requirement.”
It’s a small price to pay for the payoff of skipping the wait — especially in the Big Apple, where go-getters are accustomed to getting things done in a New York minute.
Samuel is glad to step in — or, more aptly, sit in — for agitated trippers, securing their spots in TSA lines in effort to ease the tension.
“I’ll arrive six to seven hours before the flight — I’ll even pack a duffel bag full of junk to make it look like I’m actually traveling — and wait in line until there are roughly 20 people ahead of me,” he explained of the process. “Then I’ll call the customer to come take their place.”
But, as a best practice, Samuel will only sit in line for one person at a time.
If traveling families or groups require his business, each tripper must hire an individual line sitter to act as their proxy.
Samuel also prefers waiting in lines that extend outside of an airport — either onto sidewalks or into parking areas — and swapping spots with a patron before entering the building. He says doing the switch outdoors makes for an easier transition.
“Clients can go have lunch, go explore, do whatever they want,” said Samuel. “I’ll be watching something on Netflix, like ‘Bridgerton,’ or striking up conversations with people in line while I wait.”
And although Samuel has only received a handful of TSA line sitting requests since the shutdown, including one for a daybreak flight out of JFK next week, the pro is no stranger to taking on the burden of waiting — be it in rain, sleet, snow or the dark of night.
The entrepreneur and his band of 30 full-time and part-time employees, who range in age from 21 to 80, have been hired to, literally, sit in the city’s hottest, lengthiest lines since 2012.
From haute sample sales to ritzy restaurant openings, from Broadway debuts to high-profile courtroom seats — and, now, spots at the airport — the expert stand-ins do it all.
Samuel considers his work a “civic duty” aimed at helping New Yorkers in need.
“Knowing that I’m making a person’s day a little less stressful gives me the warm and fuzzies,” he gushed. “I’m doing my part to make the world a little better.”
Jimmy Payne, a rising TSA line sitter, based in Louisiana, echoed similar sentiments to The Post.
The southern gent recently achieved viral acclaim after advertising his airport surrogate services online. And what started out as a harmless joke shared to Facebook Tuesday has since transformed into his buzzy side hustle.
“I’ve received dozens of messages and inquiries from people asking me to stand in line for them at TSA,” Payne, 54, a travel agent and lawn care specialist, from Baton Rouge, said with a laugh. “I’m also getting [submissions] from people asking me to hire them as line sitters.”
Calls for his support (and, apparently, for jobs) came pouring in to Payne the moment his social media promo hit the internet.
“Airports are getting out of hand…so I’m offering a solution,” reads his Facebook flyer, which has amassed nearly 20,000 likes. “If you don’t feel like standing in those long TSA lines, I’ll do it for you.”
“I’ll stand in line, hold your spot, and call or text you when I reach the TSA scan point,” continues the bulletin, noting that Payne possesses “strong legs” and a “strong bladder.”
“You walk up, step in, and keep it moving,” says the notice. Payne also lists the airports in which he’s willing to work and prices for each hotspot, including MSY for $600, IAH for $800 and ATL for $1,200.
He stipulates, however, that fees must be paid in advance and that clients must book him at least one week prior to their schedule departure time.
Payne, who’s yet to actually perform any line sitting duties at an airport, attributes the demand for the service to the modern jet-setter’s obsession with instant gratification.
“People are willing to pay for convenience, especially for something they don’t want to do like waiting in long TSA lines,” he said. “If it makes their lives easier, they’ll pay for it.”
And Payne, a single empty nester, is happy to make the easy money.
“I am a businessman. But I’m really just a country guy with a big heart,” he said. “I’m always willing to help people — even if I’m slightly inconvenienced.”
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