WASHINGTON, March 15 - The chief executives of the nation’s largest passenger airlines and several major cargo carriers urged Congress to quickly end a 29-day partial government shutdown that has forced about 50,000 Transportation Security Administration officers to continue working without pay.
In an open letter addressed to lawmakers, the leaders of American Airlines, United Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Southwest Airlines, JetBlue Airways, Alaska Air and others warned that absences among TSA officers have already produced travel disruptions at some major airports over the past week, raising fresh concerns as the industry enters a busy spring break travel period.
"Too many travelers are having to wait in extraordinarily long - and painfully slow - lines at checkpoints," the CEOs wrote. They urged Congress to first reach an agreement to fund the Department of Homeland Security and then enact measures to prevent similar interruptions from recurring.
The airline group noted that a prior 43-day government shutdown in the fall produced widespread flight disruptions and prompted a 10% cut in flights at major airports ordered by the Federal Aviation Administration. "Once again air travel is the political football amid another government shutdown," the executives wrote in the letter.
The coalition of airline executives also includes senior executives from cargo carriers FedEx, UPS and Atlas Air. Together they called for legislation that would ensure critical federal aviation personnel are paid during future shutdowns.
Lawmakers from both parties failed on Thursday in competing efforts to provide emergency funding for the TSA. The agency reported that more than 300 officers have resigned since the shutdown began, compounding staffing shortfalls.
Funding for the Department of Homeland Security lapsed on February 13 after Congress was unable to reach an agreement on immigration enforcement reforms sought by Democrats, the letter noted. The shutdown has left TSA officers working without wages while continuing to carry out security screening duties.
Airlines are preparing for a large spring travel period, with the industry expecting 171 million passengers to fly over a two-month span, an increase of 4% from the same period a year earlier. The executives cautioned that the staffing strain at checkpoints threatens smooth operations as passenger volumes rise.
Last week, several airports reported long security waits as absences among TSA officers increased. Houston Hobby and New Orleans each recorded security lines exceeding two hours, and Newark reported higher-than-normal delays on Saturday. In response to short staffing, some airports have temporarily closed security checkpoints, while others have undertaken local efforts to raise funds to help TSA workers buy essentials while they are unpaid.
"Americans - who live in your districts and home states - are tired of long lines at airports, travel delays and flight cancellations caused by shutdown after shutdown," the airline executives wrote, urging lawmakers to act quickly to restore funding and to adopt protections that would prevent pay interruptions for critical aviation staff in future funding standoffs.
Context and pressures facing the industry
The executives framed the shutdown as an immediate operational and customer service problem that risks worsening as the spring travel peak continues. They tied the current staffing and delay issues directly to the funding lapse and to the failure of lawmakers to reach a timely funding agreement.
While the letter focuses on restoring pay for TSA officers and preventing future pay interruptions, the broader point made by the carriers is that continued political impasse can translate quickly into tangible disruptions across airports and airline schedules.