As the busy spring travel season begins, passengers are already facing long waits at airports.
Top executives from major carriers including Delta Air Lines, American Airlines, and Southwest Airlines are urging Congress to restore funding for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and pass legislation ensuring that air traffic controllers and airport security personnel receive pay during the government shutdown.
"Air travel has once again become a political football in the government shutdown," the executives wrote in an open letter to Congress released online and in The Washington Post on Sunday.
The current partial government shutdown has led to extensive queues at airports during the peak spring travel period. The letter stated that U.S. airlines anticipate a record 171 million passengers this spring.
Funding for the Department of Homeland Security was cut off in February. Thousands of federal employees, including staff from the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), have been working without pay and missed their first paycheck last Friday. "This is completely unacceptable," the CEOs wrote. "Without pay, it is extremely difficult, if not impossible, for people to support their families, buy gas, or pay rent."
Exceptionally long security lines at some airports have already caused passengers to miss flights, with airport authorities advising travelers to prepare for wait times lasting several hours. Last week, the Department of Homeland Security posted on platform X that more than 300 TSA employees have resigned since the shutdown began.
The blockage in funding for the Department of Homeland Security stems from Democratic lawmakers pushing for new restrictions on operations of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Last week, Democrats rejected a bill to fund the Department of Homeland Security, while Republicans had previously blocked a proposal that would have funded only certain parts of the department, including the TSA but excluding ICE.
The open letter was jointly signed by the chief executives of six major U.S. passenger airlines and three cargo airlines.
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