Delta Air Lines is scrapping its congressional specialty service that allows members of Congress to bypass typical airport security lines until the government restores funding to the Department of Homeland Security.
“Due to the impact on resources from the longstanding government shutdown, Delta will temporarily suspend specialty services to members of Congress flying Delta,” Delta told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
The outlet’s report comes as hundreds of unpaid Transportation Security Administration officers have called out of work amid the partial government shutdown, and officers continue to miss paychecks. The shutdown and subsequent understaffing at TSA checkpoints have also hit travelers hard, with security line waits reaching up to two hours in some airports and screening checkpoints closing in several terminals.
“Next to safety, Delta’s No. 1 priority is taking care of our people and customers, which has become increasingly difficult in the current environment,” the Delta statement shared with the outlet read.
Many mainstream airlines have specialized services for members of Congress to shuttle them to their gates safely and give them more flexibility in booking tickets. Delta is the first airline to strip these specialized services during the DHS shutdown.
Delta CEO Ed Bastian has been at the forefront of airline executives advocating support for TSA agents during this partial government shutdown. Bastian was one of 10 CEOs to pen a letter to Congress asking them to stop treating air travel as a “political football” and make a deal to end the DHS shutdown.
“TSA officers just received $0 paychecks. That is simply unacceptable. It’s difficult, if not impossible, to put food on the table, put gas in the car and pay rent when you are not getting paid,” the airline CEOs wrote in the letter to Congress.
Due to increased wait times at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, Delta released an advisory notifying customers that it would waive fare differences for customers who rebook their flights before March 30.
“It’s inexcusable that our security agents, our front-line agents, that are essential to what we do, are not being paid. And it’s ridiculous to see them being used as political chips. So, we’re outraged,” Bastian told CNBC.
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“If there’s a call to action here — and I think over 90% of the American public support those people getting paid — ask our folks right here in Washington to do their job, get our people paid. They can do it,” he continued.
A DHS funding deal has seemed largely out of reach since the shutdown began in mid-February, as Democrats remain hard-line on their calls for immigration reform to fund the agency that houses Immigration and Customs Enforcement. But Senate Republicans voiced optimism that a deal could be around the corner after a Monday evening meeting with President Donald Trump.
