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Top U.S. Airlines Urge Congress to End Shutdown Amid TSA Pay Crisis

Top U.S. Airlines Urge Congress to End Shutdown Amid TSA Pay Crisis
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The heads of the largest U.S. airlines urged Congress on Sunday to end a 29‑day partial government shutdown that has forced 50,000 airport security officers to work without pay, warning that growing TSA staffing shortages and long lines threaten to snarl the spring travel rush and undermine confidence in air travel reuters. The appeal came as lawmakers remained locked in an immigration‑driven funding standoff that has left the Department of Homeland Security unfunded since mid‑February reuters +1.

In an open letter released March 15, CEOs from American, United, Delta, Southwest, JetBlue, Alaska, FedEx, UPS and Atlas Air said “too many travelers are having to wait in extraordinarily long – and painfully slow – lines at checkpoints” and accused Washington of turning air travel into a “political football” during yet another shutdown reuters. About 100,000 Homeland Security employees overall were projected to miss a full paycheck as of this weekend, including roughly 50,000 TSA officers required to keep working without pay businesstimes.

Airline Warning: Operational Strain Meets Record Demand

Airlines said the shutdown risked cascading disruptions just as carriers prepared for what they projected would be a record spring season, with an estimated 171 million passengers expected to fly over a two‑month period, up about 4% from last year reuters. Absences among unpaid TSA officers have already forced some major airports to close checkpoints and reroute traffic, contributing to hours‑long waits in Houston and security lines that stretched to the parking garage in New Orleans, according to airport and passenger reports reuters +1.

Industry leaders also flagged safety and workforce concerns as more than 300 TSA officers were reported to have quit since the shutdown began, raising fears of further attrition if paychecks do not resume soon businesstravelnews. Trade groups and CEOs are pressing not only for an immediate funding deal but also for future safeguards to ensure essential aviation personnel are paid during any subsequent shutdowns reuters.

Political Stalemate Over DHS Funding and TSA Pay

Despite mounting pressure, negotiations between the White House and Senate Democrats showed no public breakthrough, with both sides acknowledging frequent contact but little concrete movement toward restoring Department of Homeland Security funding cnbc +1. Democrats have demanded immigration enforcement reforms as part of any long‑term funding package and have attempted to pass standalone bills to pay TSA and other DHS components, efforts Republicans blocked while insisting on a broader agreement cnbc.

Republicans, meanwhile, argued Democrats were holding TSA and border agents “hostage” to policy demands, even as some GOP senators privately conceded that visible airport disruption could intensify public anger at Washington overall cnbc +1. Lawmakers in both parties said they hoped to reach a deal before the Senate’s Easter recess beginning March 28, but as TSA workers missed their first full paycheck Friday and reports surfaced of officers sleeping in cars or turning to food donations, unions warned that “they’re panicking, they’re scared, they’re afraid” businesstimes.

The Bigger Picture

The airline CEOs’ intervention underscored how a Washington budget fight over immigration had spilled into one of the country’s most visible public services, with unpaid federal security officers standing between record passenger volumes and an already stretched airport system reuters +1. Unless Congress and the White House resolve the DHS funding stalemate in the coming weeks, travel experts and lawmakers from both parties have warned that today’s long lines and scattered checkpoint closures could harden into widespread delays and cancellations, turning air travel into a potent political flashpoint heading into the spring and summer seasons reuters +1.