March 16, 2026 — Washington, D.C. CEOs of major U.S. airlines, including American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, United Airlines, Southwest Airlines, JetBlue, Alaska Air Group, FedEx, UPS and Atlas Air, urged Congress in an open letter dated March 15 to end the 29-day partial government shutdown affecting the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and fund the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) amid agent quits and airport disruptions caused by unpaid workers.
The executives, led by signatories such as Delta CEO Ed Bastian, American Airlines CEO Robert Isom and United CEO Scott Kirby, described air travel as a “political football” during the shutdown that began February 13. They demanded immediate DHS funding and passage of the Aviation Funding Solvency Act, Aviation Funding Stability Act for air traffic controllers and Keep America Flying Act for TSA officers.
“Once again air travel is the political football amid another government shutdown.”
The letter highlighted polling by AlphaROC, Inc., showing 93% of Americans support paying federal aviation workers during shutdowns and 88% expect long security lines if TSA officers remain unpaid.
TSA Disruptions and Worker Exodus
Hundreds of the 50,000 unpaid TSA officers have quit or called in sick, leading to security lines exceeding two hours at airports including Houston Hobby, New Orleans and Newark, according to a Reuters report. The CEOs noted wait times of 2 to 4 hours amid record spring travel expectations of 171 million passengers.
“TSA officers just received $0 paychecks. That is simply unacceptable.”
Airlines are holding flights and rebooking passengers but will not issue refunds for missed flights, the letter stated. Coverage in CNBC, WSJ and AP echoed U.S. airline CEOs’ urge to Congress to end government shutdown and fund DHS/TSA amid agent quits and airport disruptions.
Broader Context and Reactions
This partial shutdown follows a prior 43-day event that caused 10% flight cuts. Outlets like Fox News, The Guardian and Business Insider reported the CEOs’ criticism, with X posts from Epoch Times calling unpaid work “unacceptable.”
The letter warned of worsening issues ahead of spring break, FIFA World Cup 2026 and America’s 250th birthday celebrations, stressing the need to pay TSA, Customs and air traffic controllers.
“Americans—who live in your districts and home states—are tired of long lines at airports, travel delays and flight cancellations caused by shutdown after shutdown.”
U.S. airline CEOs urge Congress to end government shutdown and fund DHS/TSA amid agent quits and airport disruptions remains a top aviation story, covered by ABC and USA Today.