Delta said that because of the long government shutdown, they will temporarily stop offering special services to members of Congress who fly with them. “After safety, Delta’s main focus is taking care of our people and customers, but this has gotten harder because of the current situation,” Delta explained.
This special service lets lawmakers get cheaper government rates for their trips, make last-minute changes to their tickets, and book several seats on different flights in one day.
It helps them move around easily for votes and other duties.
Delta is ending this special treatment because airport lines have gotten extremely long.
This is due to the Trump administration not reaching an agreement on funding for the Department of Homeland Security. Since TSA is part of DHS, the partial shutdown has led to fewer workers and a lot of stress. Many TSA workers aren’t getting paid, and over 400 have left their jobs.
“Airlines executives wrote to Congress earlier this month saying that TSA officers are getting zero paychecks.
That’s not fair. It’s hard, if not impossible, to buy food, gas, and pay rent when you’re not getting paid,” they said.
At Hartsfield Jackson International Airport in Atlanta, travelers are advised to spend at least four hours going through TSA.
With the government fully controlled by Republicans, things are falling apart. Illegal wars are being fought overseas while our country is getting more chaotic. Trump can’t even keep things running smoothly at our airports.
Instead of making a deal with Democrats to end this problem for the American people, Trump has sent in untrained, aggressive ICE agents to airports nationwide.
These agents are causing fear and detaining innocent people. Worse, he wants to link DHS funding to his voter suppression plan, which makes it more likely this shutdown will go on.
If the rest of us are dealing with the effects of Republican leadership, at least the airlines can show that we feel their pain too.
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