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“Once again, air travel is the political football amid another
government shutdown,” the executives wrote in an open letter to
Congress that was published Sunday online and in The Washington
Post.
The letter, which was also signed by the CEOs of the cargo
companies UPS, FedEx and Atlas Air, said that Congress should
pass the Aviation Funding Solvency Act and the Aviation Funding
Stability Act, which would guarantee air traffic controllers are
paid regardless of the government’s funding status, as well as
the Keep America Flying Act. That measure would offer the same
protections to Transportation Security Administration officers
tasked to provide security and to screen all travelers.
”It’s 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 affects only the Department of
Homeland Security, which includes TSA. Democrats in Congress
refused to fund the department over objections to its
immigration enforcement tactics. The lapse marks the third
shutdown in less than a year to leave TSA workers temporarily
without pay — and once the government reopens, to have to wait
for back pay.
Democratic lawmakers have said DHS won’t get funded until new
restrictions are 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, FIFA's
World Cup 2026 approaching and celebrations for America's 250th
birthday throughout the year, the stakes are high. The letter
said that U.S. airlines expect 171 million passengers this
spring season.
As the latest partial shutdown drags on, there have been long
security lines at a growing number of U.S airports.
The TSA and Homeland Security have consistently blamed Democrats
for the long security lines.
Homeland Security posted on its X account last week that more
than 300 TSA agents have quit since the start of the shutdown.
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