Delta suspends special treatment for Congress as shutdown sows chaos in airports

By David Shepardson

WASHINGTON, March 24 (Reuters) – Delta Air Lines said on Tuesday it would suspend special services for members of Congress, ‌citing the impact of a partial government shutdown that has ‌disrupted U.S. air travel.

“Due to the impact on resources from the longstanding government shutdown, Delta ​will temporarily suspend specialty services to members of Congress flying Delta. Next to safety, Delta’s no. 1 priority is taking care of our people and customers, which has become increasingly difficult in the current environment,” the Atlanta-based U.S. ‌air carrier said in ⁠a statement.

Delta, like other U.S. airlines, typically provides special services for lawmakers who fly frequently back and forth from ⁠Washington and oversee the nation’s air travel system.

Members of Congress will not get airport escorts or VIP treatment for other services like seat upgrades or ​rebooking, the ​airline said, though lawmakers will still ​have access to a special ‌phone line for reservations.

Travelers have endured hours-long waits at security screening checkpoints in recent days as resignations and absentee rates have risen among Transportation Security Administration employees, who have gone without pay since mid-February, when Congress allowed funding for the Department of Homeland Security to expire due to a ‌dispute over immigration enforcement. President Donald Trump ​has deployed immigration agents to more than ​a dozen airports to help ​with crowd control, over the objections of TSA workers ‌who say they are not properly ​trained for the ​job.

Delta CEO Ed Bastian told CNBC last week that it was time to pay TSA workers.

“It’s inexcusable,” Bastian said, noting that TSA ​officers were forced to ‌miss paychecks last fall as well. “It’s ridiculous to see them being ​used as political chits. We’re outraged.”

(Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing ​by Andy Sullivan and Mark Porter)