Eastern Iowa Airport director Marty Lenss didn’t mince words Monday morning as he addressed the ongoing partial government shutdown that’s left Transportation Security Administration (TSA) agents working without paychecks for several weeks.
“It’s absolutely shameful what Congress has done, utilizing frontline teams as pawns in whatever game they’ve got going on in their theater,” Mr. Lenss said at Monday’s meeting of the Cedar Rapids Airport Commission.
TSA agents, who staff airport security checkpoints, are part of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). They ave been working without pay at the Eastern Iowa Airport, and at airports nationwide, since the partial shutdown began Feb. 14.
Checkpoint lines have been growing in recent weeks, particularly at the nation’s larger hub airports, and nearly 400 TSA agents have resigned over the past month, falling behind on bills as they continued to work without pay.
“These political stunts are causing unneeded financial hardship for our TSA officers and their families,” said Acting DHS Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis in a statement posted to the DHS website. “Because of this DHS shutdown, Americans are facing hours-long waits at airports across the country.”
Mr. Lenss expressed similar sentiments Monday, though the shutdown has reportedly had minimal impact for Cedar Rapids airport passengers.
“(It’s) very maddening, to say the least,” he said, “and we’re seeing it play out at larger airports with ridiculous lines. We’ve got major headwinds right now with fuel prices on this industry. Self-inflicted wounds with how we treat our critical staff at TSA, I think, is just absolutely shameful on our Congress, and yet they get paid.”
The airport launched a donation drive last week “to support our TSA employees who continue to serve CID during the government shutdown.”
Mr. Lenss also said he heard several legislators speak during an American Association of Airport Executives (AAAE) legislative conference in Washington, D.C. last week. He described their comments as “linguistically masterful,” but said “there’s no ‘do’ in their talk.”
“It’s got to just get fixed, because this industry can’t absorb this,” he said. “It will negatively impact everybody in this room, not just TSA. The fuel prices, coupled with TSA issues and not paying our front line, it’s going to impact the entire industry in a major way.”
In a letter to United Airlines employees posted on Friday, United CEO Scott Kirby said jet fuel prices have more than doubled in the last three weeks, representing an additional $11 billion in annual costs if prices stay at that level.
He said United is planning for the price of crude oil to peak at nearly $175 a barrel this year, and for prices to not return to $100 a barrel until the end of 2027. The result – higher fuel costs – is eventually expected to be passed on to airline passengers.
“Price headwinds (are) a big concern on the industry right now,” Mr. Lenss said.
Mr. Lenss expressed hope that the partial shutdown can be resolved before Congress leaves for a scheduled two-week recess next week.
“What Board of Directors gets paid when their frontline staff is not getting paid?” he asked. “They’ve got a week to do it before they go on break. I hope it’s done this week. It’s funny how a vacation will motivate action.”
Officials also reported Monday that there are no Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents currently deployed at the Cedar Rapids airport, though some ICE agents are being deployed at other airports nationwide in response to the shortage of TSA agents.
