CEOs of top airlines demand Congress restore funding to Homeland Security and pay airport workers
The CEOs of the nation’s largest airlines are imploring Congress to restore funding to the Department of Homeland Security and pass a bipartisan solution to pay federal aviation workers, including airport security officers, during a partial government…
NEW YORK– The CEOs of the nation’s largest airlines, including American, Delta, Southwest and JetBlue, are imploring Congress to restore funding to the Department of Homeland Security and pass a bipartisan solution to pay federal aviation workers, including airport security officers, during the partial government shutdown.
“Once again, air travel is the political football amid yet another government shutdown,” the executives wrote in an open letter to Congress published online and in the Washington Post on Sunday.
The letter, which was also signed by the CEOs of cargo companies UPS, FedEx and Atlas Air, says Congress should pass the Aviation Funding Solvency Act and the Aviation Funding Stability Act, which would ensure air traffic controllers are paid regardless of government funding status, as well as the Keep America Flying Act. This measure would provide the same protections to Transportation Security Administration officers charged with providing security and screening all travelers.
“It is difficult, if not impossible, to put food on the table, put gas in the car, and pay rent when you are not getting paid,” the letter said.
The current partial shutdown only affects the Department of Homeland Security, which includes the TSA. Congressional Democrats have refused to fund the department because of their objections to its immigration enforcement tactics. This is the third shutdown in less than a year that leaves TSA workers temporarily without pay — and once the government reopens, they must wait for back pay.
Democratic lawmakers said DHS would not be funded until new restrictions were placed on federal immigration operations following the fatal shootings of Alex Pretti and Renee Good in Minneapolis earlier this year.
The CEOs noted that with spring break in full swing, the approach of the 2026 FIFA World Cup and year-round celebrations of America’s 250th anniversary, the stakes are high. The letter said U.S. airlines expect to welcome 171 million passengers this spring.
As the latest partial shutdown drags on, long security lines have formed at a growing number of U.S. airports.
The TSA and Homeland Security have consistently blamed Democrats for long security lines.
Homeland Security posted on its X account last week that more than 300 TSA agents had resigned since the shutdown began.
