TSA workers are getting an extra financial boost on the heels of the longest-ever government shutdown in American history.
The Department of Homeland Security began distributing $10,000 bonus checks to TSA officers who went “above and beyond” during the 43-day shutdown, according to Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem. During the government’s closure, TSA workers were among the thousands of critical federal employees required to show up to work with no pay.
“Every single one of these individuals served with exemplary service,” Noem said at a press conference on Thursday. “They went above and beyond. They helped individuals, they served extra shifts, and they helped with the transportation of people getting back and forth to work. They were all examples of what we need.”
Noem began handing out the bonus checks to frontline TSA officers at Thursday’s press conference. But she said that the department will continue to recognize deserving TSA staff with the bonus checks across the country.
Air traffic controllers were another branch of federal employees who were required to work through the shutdown with no paychecks. The Trump administration has said it wants to similarly award $10,000 bonuses to ATC staff who didn’t skip work during the government closure, and Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy has said he’s looking into fulfilling that request, according to Reuters.
The shutdown ended late Wednesday night after the U.S. House of Representatives passed a Senate-approved funding bill and sent it to President Trump’s desk for final sign-off. During the 43 days, millions of travelers faced flight delays and cancellations as unpaid air traffic controllers called out of work in higher-than-usual numbers.
As a result, the FAA began requiring airlines to reduce their flights by 6 percent at the nation’s 40 busiest airports. Those reductions will remain in place until it’s determined that the nation’s air travel system has returned to safe staffing levels.
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