Airline CEOs urge Congress to end standoff, pay airport security officers

The chief executive officers of major US airlines urged Congress on Sunday to move quickly to end a 29-day partial government shutdown that has forced 50,000 airport security officers to work without pay, warning it could further disrupt US air travel.Absences by Transportation Security Administration officers have ​already disrupted travel at some major airports over the last week, raising alarm as the busy spring break travel season continues.“Too many travelers are having to wait in extraordinarily long – and painfully slow – lines at checkpoints,” the CEOs of American Airlines, United Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Southwest Airlines, JetBlue Airways, Alaska Air and others wrote in an open letter to Congress.“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,” they added.Last fall, a 43-day government shutdown led to widespread flight disruptions and the FAA ordered a 10% flight cut at major airports.

“Once again air travel is the political football amid another government shutdown,” the CEOs wrote.The group of airline executives – which also includes senior executives at cargo carriers FedEx, UPS, 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.The Homeland Security Department’s funding lapsed on Feb.13 after Congress failed to reach a deal ​on immigration enforcement reforms demanded by Democrats.“We are going to get through this.

I think Democrats are going to come to their senses,” said U.S.Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy on Fox News Channel’s “Sunday Morning Futures.”But Duffy said he hopes that Democrats are not “waitin...