Delta suspends specialty services for members of Congress amid shutdown-driven TSA delays
NBC News • • nation
Key Points:
- Delta Air Lines has temporarily suspended special airport services for members of Congress due to resource strains caused by the ongoing government shutdown affecting TSA workers.
- TSA employees have missed multiple paychecks amid the shutdown, leading to high callout rates—over 40% at some airports—and causing severe security line delays nationwide.
- TSA workers report financial hardships, including inability to pay bills, late fees, and food insecurity, with some resorting to selling plasma or facing mental health crises.
- Unions representing TSA and Coast Guard workers have condemned the situation as a national disgrace, urging Congress to fund the TSA and warning lawmakers against taking recess amid the crisis.
- In response to staffing shortages, the administration has deployed ICE agents to assist with airport security tasks, a move criticized by union leaders as inadequate and harmful to TSA employees.
