Airport Alert: AAAE and ACI-NA Seeking Individual Airport Leader Signatures on Joint Letter Calling for an End to the DHS Shutdown
March 17, 2026
As a follow up to the joint letter sent by AAAE and ACI-NA earlier today calling on congressional leaders to end the DHS shutdown, we are seeking the signatures of individual airport leaders on a joint airport letter to Capitol Hill with the same message. It is our hope that a letter signed by multiple airport executives from across the country will help convey the breadth of the impact the shutdown is having on airports nationwide and spur an end to the current impasse.
With things currently deadlocked on Capitol Hill and with the House and Senate expected to be out of session for two weeks beginning on March 30, there is a growing urgency to ramp up the pressure for action.
The text of the draft joint airport letter is below and can be viewed here.
If you are interested in signing the joint letter from airport leaders, please let us know and upload a signature block for your designated airport leader by 6 pm Eastern on Friday, March 20. If you have any issues uploading the signature or want to send it directly, please contact Stephanie Gupta.
We will plan to convey the letter with signatures from airport leaders to House and Senate leadership on Monday, March 23.
Thank you in advance for your assistance and support.
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Dear Congressional Leadership:
On behalf of the undersigned airport leaders from across the country, we are writing to implore you to end the funding impasse for the Department of Homeland Security immediately. As you are well aware, tens of thousands of dedicated federal employees who ensure the security and safety of the traveling public are currently working without pay, a situation that is leading to growing levels of absences across the country as workers, many of whom live paycheck to paycheck, are forced to contemplate other jobs.
Absent an agreement to resolve the shutdown, we are deeply concerned about the growing operational disruptions at airports. Since missing a full paycheck on March 13, unexcused absences of screeners have tripled to a nationwide average above 10 percent, with several airports experiencing call-out rates above 50 percent. This has caused lengthy wait times during an already busy period with peak spring break travel. We are concerned that staff shortages at airports will grow further just as our country prepares to host the FIFA World Cup, America’s 250th birthday celebrations, and other high-profile events. Screeners who leave the agency during the shutdown will be extremely difficult to replace in the near term given the time it takes to train and deploy personnel for these important jobs.
The impacts of the shutdown are significant, growing, and potentially long-lasting. We urge you to take action to immediately end the shutdown, and we respectfully request that Congress enact legislation to provide pay for TSA and other critical federal aviation workers who keep our nation safe and secure during any future shutdown so that they never miss a paycheck again.
