US airline CEOs urge Congress to end govt Shutdown

The chief executive officers of major U.S. airlines urged Congress on Sunday to move quickly to end a 29-day partial government shutdown that has forced 50,000 airport security officers to work without pay, warning it could further disrupt U.S. air travel.



Absences by Transportation Security Administration officers have already disrupted travel at some major airports over the last week, raising alarm as the busy spring break travel season continues.



"Too many travelers are having to wait in extraordinarily long - and painfully slow - lines at checkpoints," the CEOs of American Airlines, United Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Southwest Airlines, JetBlue Airways , Alaska Air and others wrote in an open letter to Congress.



Last fall, a 43-day government shutdown led to widespread flight disruptions and the FAA ordered a 10% flight cut at major airports.



The group of airline executives - which also includes senior executives at cargo carriers FedEx, UPS and Atlas Air - called for legislation to ensure during future government shutdowns all critical government aviation personnel are paid.



Senators from both parties failed on Thursday in competing efforts to fund the TSA, which said last week that more than 300 officers have quit since the shutdown began.