Airline CEOs urge Congress to end shutdown and pay airport TSA officers

"Too many travelers are having to wait in extraordinarily long and painfully slow lines at checkpoints, wrote the CEOs of American Airlines, United Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Southwest Airlines, JetBlue Airways, Alaska Airlines and others in an open letter to Congress. They added: First, leaders should immediately come together to reach an agreement to fund the Department of Homeland Security. Then they need to act so this problem never happens again."

"The group of airline executives which also includes senior executives at cargo carriers FedEx, United Parcel Service, and Atlas Air called for legislation to ensure during future government shutdowns all critical government aviation personnel are paid. Senators from both parties failed on Thursday in competing efforts to fund the TSA, which said last week that more than 300 officers have quit since the shutdown began."

"Once again air travel is the political football amid another government shutdown, the CEOs wrote. Last fall, a 43-day government shutdown led to widespread flight disruptions and the FAA ordered a 10% flight cut at major airports."

Major US airline CEOs have called on Congress to immediately resolve the 29-day partial government shutdown, which has forced 50,000 TSA officers to work without pay. The shutdown has already caused significant travel disruptions at major airports, with passengers experiencing extraordinarily long security checkpoint lines during the busy spring break season. The airline executives, representing carriers including American, United, Delta, Southwest, JetBlue, and Alaska Airlines, along with cargo operators FedEx, UPS, and Atlas Air, warned that continued disruptions could worsen. They urged Congress to fund the Department of Homeland Security and implement legislation ensuring critical aviation personnel receive pay during future shutdowns. Over 300 TSA officers have quit since the shutdown began. Airlines anticipate a record 171 million passengers during the spring travel period.

Read at www.theguardian.com