Airports resort to food banks to feed starving TSA agents…

AIRPORTS have started to collect food and other essentials for struggling government employees who are being forced to work without pay.

Departments like the Transportation Security Administration are having to stay afloat despite an ongoing government shutdown putting their paychecks on hold.

At the beginning of October, the federal government imposed a freeze after Republican and Democrat lawmakers refused to agree on a spending bill.

Under the shutdown, essential workers like TSA security agents still have to clock in, but they will be forced to wait until the freeze ends to get a paycheck.

This has made calling out more frequent, as some employees are skipping out on shifts to try and make quick cash as side gigs like driving for Uber.

To help ease the financial strain, some airports are asking the community for donations to keep essential workers and their families fed.

On Thursday, the Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas, Nevada, started collecting food, toiletries, baby products, and pet food for a pantry.

Luke Nimmo, the public information officer for the Clark County Department of Aviation said they got donations over the weekend and opened Monday.

“We’re accepting gift cards for retail, for gas, for grocery stores, baby supplies, all the things that they need to help get them by during this government shutdown,” he told CBS affiliate KSNV.

Nimmo stressed that along with food, workers need pet food for their pets.

“A lot of people have pets, you know, we gotta take care of them as well,” he said.

“Baby formula, diapers, wipes, toiletries, you know, like toilet paper, paper towels, soap, dish soap, and then food items as well.”

Harry Reid isn’t the only airport asking for donations.

The Salt Lake City International Airport in Utah opened a pantry after estimating that 500 airport workers could need aid.

Tables set up in the hub have been left piled with cans of nonperishable food and stacks of diapers for struggling workers, Deseret News reported.

Federal employees abide by strict rules that ban most gift-giving, so the city redirected funding to purchase the goods.

The city was asked for $100,000 to help provide the workers with essentials until the shutdown ends, Bill Wyatt, the executive director of the Salt Lake City Department of Airports said.

FLIGHT FURY

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy has warned that he will pull the plug on flights if airports do not have the staff to continue operations safely.

“If we see there’s issues in the tower that are affecting controllers’ ability to effectively control the airspace, we’ll reduce the rate, and you’ll see more delays or you might see a cancellation,” he said in a press conference.

“I’m willing to do that before we’re willing to risk anyone’s life in the air.”

So far this month, the Hollywood Burbank Airport in California was forced to shut down for hours as it didn’t have any air traffic controllers.

The Nashville International Airport in Tennessee also didn’t have any controllers, and towers in Memphis had to step in and help.