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Re:

Why Major U.S. Airline CEOs Urged Congress to End the DHS Shutdown

A March 15, 2026 letter from ten aviation leaders called for immediate DHS funding and proposed protections to keep TSA officers and air traffic controllers paid during future shutdowns.
From TheFinanceBase Team3 min to read
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On March 15, 2026, ten leaders from major U.S. passenger and cargo airlines and Airlines for America urged Congress to fund the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and protect aviation workers’ pay during future shutdowns. Their appeal tied the immediate funding impasse to missed paychecks for Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officers and the risk of airport travel disruption.

What did the airline leaders ask Congress to do?

The leaders’ open letter requested two steps: reach an immediate agreement to fund DHS, then pass legislation intended to prevent aviation workers from missing pay during future government shutdowns. The letter described three proposals:

  • Aviation Funding Solvency Act and Aviation Funding Stability Act, which the signatories said would ensure air traffic controllers are paid regardless of the government’s funding status.
  • Keep America Flying Act, which they said would provide similar pay protections for TSA officers.

These were proposals advocated by the signatories, not laws established by the letter. The distinction matters: ending a particular funding lapse and creating a lasting statutory guarantee for workers are separate policy steps.

Who signed the March 15 letter?

The ten signatories were Bob Jordan of Southwest Airlines; Scott Kirby of United Airlines; Nando Cesarone of UPS; Christopher T. Sununu of Airlines for America; Ed Bastian of Delta Air Lines; Joanna Geraghty of JetBlue Airways; Robert Isom of American Airlines Group and American Airlines; Ben Minicucci of Alaska Air Group; Richard W. Smith of FedEx; and Michael Steen of Atlas Air Worldwide. The group represented passenger carriers, cargo carriers and the airline trade association.

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Why were airline leaders concerned about the shutdown?

The letter said TSA officers had received $0 paychecks and described long checkpoint waits. The signatories reported that TSA checkpoint waits were ranging from two to four hours, and said airlines were holding flights for late passengers and rebooking others to limit disruption. Those details are the executives’ contemporaneous account, not an independently measured nationwide average.

The broader funding dispute involved more than airport operations. The Associated Press reported that Democrats objected to funding DHS without restrictions on immigration-enforcement tactics. That context helps explain the impasse; it is distinct from the airline leaders’ argument that aviation workers should be paid even when Congress has not settled funding.

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What did the letter say about public support and travel demand?

The CEOs’ letter cited an AlphaROC, Inc. poll conducted March 9–10, 2026. It reported that 93% of constituents supported paying federal aviation workers during government shutdowns, and that 88% thought long security lines and extended checkpoint waits were likely to recur if TSA officers worked without pay in future shutdowns. The letter does not provide survey methodology or independent validation for those figures, so they should be read as numbers reported by the signatories.

The executives also forecast 171 million passengers for U.S. airlines during the spring 2026 season, describing it as a record. That was their forecast in the March 15 letter, not a subsequently confirmed passenger total.

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What happened after the appeal?

On September 1, Airlines for America said the House had passed a Senate funding measure intended to keep the federal government open. The organization welcomed the measure but called it temporary and continued to urge a lasting solution for aviation workers’ pay. The sources available here do not establish whether the measure was later enacted, the exact funding status on October 8, 2026, or whether Congress subsequently enacted the three proposed pay-protection bills.

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What this means for workers and travelers

The letter framed unpaid work as a household-finance problem as well as an operational one. Its signatories wrote that it was difficult, if not impossible, to cover food, fuel and rent without pay. For travelers, their concern was that missed pay could coincide with staffing pressure and longer checkpoint waits. The letter records the executives’ claims and requested remedy; it does not by itself establish how widespread missed pay or delays were across airports.

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