Airports collect donations for TSA staffers during government shutdown
Multiple airports across the U.S. are collecting donations for Transportation Security Administration employees and federal staffers working without pay during the ongoing partial government shutdown, which started nearly one month ago in February.
The partial shutdown began Feb. 14, and TSA workers are set to miss their first paycheck of the shutdown this weekend, as some continue to seek support from places like food pantries or find side jobs to try to make ends meet.
Congressional lawmakers remain at an impasse, trading blame as Republicans pushed back this week on a Democratic proposal to fund federal agencies within the Department of Homeland Security, with the exceptions of Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection. Democrats, meanwhile, have previously blocked Republican efforts to reopen DHS, arguing that the GOP proposals do not do enough to curtail immigration enforcement tactics and protect Americans.
Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas said this week it had reopened its Food & Essentials Pantry to benefit federal staffers going without pay.
In a statement, Clark County Director of Aviation James C. Chrisley cited the success of the pantry during the previous government shutdown in October and November 2025, the longest in history so far.
"Las Vegas stepped up in a powerful way then, and we know it will rise to the occasion once again to support the men and women who keep our airport running safely," Chrisley said in part.
Denver International Airport in Colorado called for donations from the general public in an X post on Wednesday.
Phil Washington, CEO of Denver International Airport, highlighted in a statement the many TSA staffers working without pay during the busy spring break travel period.
"TSA employees just missed their first paycheck, and as we enter a busy Spring Break travel period, we want to do what we can to ease the stress of this moment," Washington said. "That's why we are calling on the public, our passengers, and other airport employees to donate grocery store and gas gift cards to help make this moment a little more bearable for these federal workers."
Other airports running donation drives include Orlando International Airport in Florida, Cleveland Hopkins International Airport in Ohio, Reno-Tahoe International Airport in Nevada and Seattle-Tacoma International Airport in Washington.
Additionally, in New York City, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey partnered with City Harvest, a food-focused nonprofit, to set up a donation drive Tuesday to benefit workers at John F. Kennedy International Airport and for LaGuardia Airport workers on Thursday.
The nonprofit said it has distributed 14,000 pounds of food to 644 households so far.
Joseph Cerletti, a TSA worker at Oakland International Airport in California and an assistant chief of the American Federation of Government Employees Local 1260 union, told ABC News Wednesday that he, his wife and three children now rely on food from the airport pantry.
"Oakland airport, they have some sort of food bank that's donating food towards the officers. So, we can feed the kids and stuff, but … it's food pantry food -- canned food, vegetables, fruit, macaroni and cheese. It's a grind right now," Cerletti said.
Cerletti also said general morale among TSA workers has been low and many of his colleagues have been calling out sick from work, making the job harder and prompting hourslong security lines at some airports in recent days.
"We are powerless. We can't control the politicians that are holding the government in a shutdown," Cerletti said. "The only thing we can do is, as a union representative, [is] come to the media and make the American public aware of what the TSA officers are going through, who ... have to be right every day."
He added, "[TSA officers' job is] to prevent another 9/11-style attack, and they will continue to do so proudly. But it won't be easy."
Editor's note: This article has been updated to correct the spelling of Joseph Cerletti's last name.
