US Airline CEOs Urge Congress to End Partial Government Shutdown in Joint Letter

The chief executives say it is ‘simply unacceptable’ to expect TSA officers to work without pay.

Travelers go through TSA at the Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport in Baltimore on Feb. 18, 2026. Madalina Kilroy/The Epoch Times

The chief executive officers (CEOs) from multiple major U.S. airlines on March 15 urged Congress to quickly end a 29-day government shutdown that has disrupted air travel and forced 50,000 Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officers to work without pay.

Absences of TSA agents during the ongoing partial shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) have caused some travelers to wait upwards of three hours or longer at some busy airports, with some missing flights during the busy spring holiday travel season.