'Absolute insanity': Democrats' DHS shutdown has travelers lining up outside Atlanta airport



More than willing to hold Americans' ease of travel hostage, Sen. Chuck Schumer (N.Y.) and his Democratic allies in the U.S. Senate initiated a partial shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security last month, conditioning the passage of the FY2026 DHS appropriations bill on restrictions to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection operations.

This Democratic denial of funding that has survived over four votes on theme has manifested in long lines and headaches at airports across the country — especially at Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, which urged travelers on Monday morning to "arrive at least 4 hours early" on account of Transportation Security Administration staffing constraints and the correlated "longer than normal wait times at security checkpoints."

'We thought we would be safe enough.'

While advising passengers to allow at least four hours for security screenings, the airport presently recommends budgeting additional time for checked baggage.

According to the airport traffic rankings released last year by Airports Council International, Hartsfield-Jackson was the busiest in North America, boasting over 108 million passengers and 796,224 aircraft movements in 2024.

On Sunday, only four of the 18 TSA screening lanes were open at America's busiest airport, reported CNN. The general boarding line was reportedly backed up past the atrium, wrapped around the baggage claim, and jutting out the door at the drop-off area.

The frustration and uncertainty were apparently too much for some would-be travelers to bear. Police reportedly had to escort one woman out after she suffered an apparent panic attack.

RELATED: 'I messed up': LaGuardia Airport shut down after deadly collision

Photo by Megan Varner/Getty Images

"We thought we would be safe enough but ... it's just insane," Oliver Wanner from Minnesota told CNN. Wanner arrived at the airport at 4 a.m. ET for a 7:30 a.m. flight — but still ended up trapped in the line.

Aaron David, a traveler who was attempting to collect his bags on Sunday, told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that the experience was "absolute insanity and chaos."

Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens (D) announced on Sunday that help from Homeland Security Investigations and ICE was on the way, starting Monday morning.

The announcement came just days after President Donald Trump stated, "If the Democrats do not allow for Just and Proper Security at our Airports, and elsewhere throughout our Country, ICE will do the job far better than ever done before!"

"According to federal officials, these personnel will be assigned to support operational needs directed by the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), including line management and crowd control within the domestic terminals," said Dickens. "Federal officials have indicated that this deployment is not intended to conduct immigration enforcement activities."

"Our Administration remains hopeful the Federal Government can soon find a way to fully fund TSA and pay their employees to resume standard operations at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport — and all airports we connect to," added Dickens.

To "help ease the burden on TSA officers who continue to serve" despite Democrats pulling TSA funding, the city of Atlanta and the Hartsfield-Jackson airport have been providing TSA officers with meal vouchers, free parking, free public transit passes, and discounted food options at airport concession stands.

Despite the support measures, around 30%-40% of agents have called out in recent days, reported WSB-TV. While some workers are not showing up after going weeks without pay, others have reportedly just quit.

Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

'I messed up': LaGuardia Airport shut down after deadly collision



Two are dead and scores more are injured after a plane collided with a fire truck at New York's LaGuardia Airport.

When touching down on Runway 4 at approximately 11:40 p.m. on Sunday, an Air Canada Express CRJ-900 plane operated by regional partner Jazz Aviation struck a Port Authority Airport Rescue and Firefighting vehicle that was responding to a separate incident, said the airport.

'That wasn't good to watch.'

Jazz Aviation confirmed that flight 8646 was en route to LaGuardia from Montreal and carrying 72 passengers and four crew members.

Kathryn Garcia, executive director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, said during a press conference early Monday morning that "initial numbers indicate that 41 passengers and crew were transported to the hospital as well as the [Airport Rescue] officers. At this time, we understand that 32 have been released, but there are also serious injuries."

Garcia confirmed that the pilot and first officer of the Air Canada flight were killed in the collision. The sergeant and the officer who were inside the truck are in stable condition with no life-threatening injuries.

Air Canada said in a statement, "We are deeply saddened by the loss of two Jazz employees, and our deepest condolences go out to the entire Jazz community and their families."

RELATED: One crash, one derailment — and Congress still can’t follow the data

Selcuk Acar/Anadolu via Getty Images

Jack Cabot, a passenger on the ill-fated flight, said, "We went down for a regular landing. We came in pretty hard. We immediately hit something, and it was just chaos in there. About five seconds later, we had come to a stop, but in that short period, I mean, everybody was hunkered down and everybody was screaming pretty quickly," reported Canadian state media.

"We didn't have any directions because the pilot's cabin had been kind of destroyed, so somebody said, 'Let's get the emergency exit and get the door and let's all jump out,' and that's exactly what we did," added Cabot.

In audio capturing LaGuardia tower communication in the moments leading up to the collision, a ground controller can be heard instructing the truck, "Just stop there. ... Stop, stop, stop, Truck One, stop, stop, stop! Stop, Truck One! Stop!"

The two-man vehicle was headed to a United flight that had reported an issue with an odor, according to Garcia.

"Jazz 646, I see you collide with a vehicle, just hold position," continues the controller. "I know you can't move. Vehicles are responding to you now."

By that point, the cockpit was shorn off, with its occupants almost certainly dead.

An individual in the recording states, "That wasn't good to watch."

The controller who told the truck to stop responds, "Yeah, I know, I was here. I tried to reach out to 'em and stop 'em. We were dealing with an emergency earlier, and I messed up."

Garcia noted that where port authority rescue vehicles operating on the tarmac are concerned, "the procedure always is in deference to the control tower any time anyone is moving on any of our runways or taxiways," and "they have to get clearance from the tower to move on our runways and our taxiways."

The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the collision.

LaGuardia, which warned travelers days earlier of "longer than usual wait times" at security checkpoints "due to staffing impacts from the federal funding lapse," announced that the airport will remain closed until at least 2 p.m. on Monday — the first day of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents' expected nationwide deployment to help with security lines at airports.

The New York Police Department announced Monday morning that all streets and highway exits into the airport have been closed until further notice.

According to Federal Aviation Administration data, LaGuardia was the 19th busiest American airport in 2024.

Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

Exclusive interview: DOT Secretary Duffy explains how he's making flying great again in time for Thanksgiving



Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy ruffled feathers among the professionally offended last week by noting that "traveling has become more uncivilized."

Duffy cited Federal Aviation Administration data indicating a 400% increase of in-flight outbursts, including physical violence since 2019; 13,800 reported unruly passenger incidents since 2021; and a doubling last year of unruly passenger events compared with 2019.

'Did people start kind of acting more like animals because they were treated more like animals?'

As part of the Department of Transportation's broader effort to usher in a "Golden Age of Travel for the American people" — which dovetails with an initiative to beautify and restore key transportation infrastructure — Duffy kicked off a campaign on Wednesday aimed at jump-starting "a nationwide conversation around how we can restore courtesy and class to air travel."

In an interview with Blaze News editor Christopher Bedford on Monday, Duffy said he's not necessarily calling for a return to three-piece suits and top hats — just a return to basic decency.

"I think it's a confluence of things that have come together that have caused people, as they get on airplanes, to be less civil to each other," Duffy said.

Duffy identified long lines at airports and airlines' efforts to cram passengers into increasingly smaller spaces as two contributing factors.

According to the advocacy group FlyersRights.org, airline seats have shrunk in recent decades while passengers have largely grown in size, such that as of 2022, "less than 50% of the public can reasonably fit in current seats."

"The airline is trying to put, you know, a lot of people on an airplane, sell as many tickets as possible, and by doing that, they're able to reduce the cost of travel and make it affordable for more people," Duffy said. "But then you feel like you're cargo."

RELATED: 'Disruptive' woman causes flight with 4 congressmen to divert: 'We live in a fascist state'

Photo by Kevin Carter/Getty Images

"Did people start kind of acting more like animals because they were treated more like animals? Or did airline crews have to crack down and treat people like that because of the actions they were seeing?" Bedford asked. "There was an obvious breakdown during COVID."

Duffy suggested that the transformation of flight attendants into mask-enforcers during the pandemic helped cultivate a more confrontational environment, which — when coupled with disrespect from the airlines and from passengers alike, signaled by the latter with an apparent increase in slovenly dress — helped grease the slide into relative barbarism.

Among the alleged incidents referred by the FAA to the FBI last year were sexual assaults, attacks on fellow passengers and/or flight staff, instances of inappropriate touching of minor fliers, and incidents where passengers attempted to breach the cockpit.

'I think we can be better.'

While physical violence and inappropriate touching are obvious examples of the behavior the Trump administration seeks to curb in air travel, Duffy noted that incivility finds various forms — such as passengers taking their shoes off and placing them on the seats in front of them, playing movies on high volume without headphones, and touching other fliers' TV screens with their bare toes.

"I want to have a conversation with America that says, 'Listen, let's call our better angels. Let's all be better when we travel together,'" Duffy told Blaze News.

The DOT secretary emphasized that it's necessary not only to curb nasty behavior but to embrace good behavior: "Let's dress more respectfully. Let's be nicer to one another. Let's say please and thank you."

Duffy suggested, for instance, that if capable men see a woman struggling to put her bag into the overhead bin, they should man up and step in to help.

"I think we can be better — better humans, better Americans, better travelers," the secretary said.

A change in general behavior could make traveling a whole lot less vexatious, not only daily where the TSA's current volume is roughly 2.48 million souls, but this week — a week where the Transportation Security Administration expects to screen more than 17.8 million people from Nov. 25 to Dec. 2, with over 3 million souls on Sunday alone.

"We are projecting that the Sunday after Thanksgiving will be one of the busiest travel days in TSA history," Adam Stahl, a senior official at the TSA, said in statement.

Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

Trump’s Transportation Department Necessarily Brings Back Shaming, Thank God

The Trump administration’s Department of Transportation has brought back shaming, and anyone who flies even just once per year should fully support it. Back in December 2021, aboard American Airlines to Cancún for a Christmas-time family vacation, I asked the flight attendant if the airline had started serving alcohol again. “No,” he said, “not until […]

It’s Past Time To Privatize Disaster-Plagued Air Traffic Control

This is no way to run a critical piece of national infrastructure, and it treats the controllers as political leverage.

Democrats' shutdown is about to make catching a flight a lot harder



Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy warned on Tuesday that if Democrats keep the government shut down, there could be serious repercussions for air travel as air traffic controllers — those directing over 44,000 flights and more than 3 million airline passengers daily — are being spread thin and overworked without pay.

"You will see mass chaos. You will see mass flight delays," said Duffy. "You'll see mass cancellations, and you may see us close certain parts of the airspace because we just cannot manage it."

'Asking them to go without a full month's pay or more is simply not sustainable.'

Duffy's warning evidently fell on deaf ears. Democrats have, after all, made explicit their intention to use Americans' pain and inconvenience as political "leverage." A senior Democrat aide even indicated last month that the party will not concede short of "planes falling out of the sky."

Citing air traffic control personnel issues and the need to keep American skies safe, Duffy announced on Wednesday that the Federal Aviation Administration will be reducing air traffic by 10% across 40 "high-volume" markets starting on Friday.

Despite his recent initiatives to recruit, train, and retain air traffic controllers, Duffy indicated that the fruits of such efforts take years to fully manifest and that at present, the FAA is still 2,000 controllers short. The government shutdown greatly compounds the impact of this underlying staffing problem as the existing workforce is spread thin, overworked, and paid nothing.

While air traffic controllers received a partial payment in early October, Duffy indicated that they haven't been paid since, prompting some controllers to take second jobs.

RELATED: Trump uses tariff revenue to protect poor mothers and kids hurt by Democrats' shutdown

Photographer: Eric Lee/Bloomberg via Getty Images

"Our air traffic controllers, and a lot of those who work at DOT but throughout government, they haven't received paychecks," said Duffy. "Many of these employees, they're the head of household. They have their spouse at home. They have a child or two or three, and when they lose income, they are confronted with real-world difficulties in how they pay their bills."

Nick Daniels, the president of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association, said in a statement on Friday, "For this nation's air traffic controllers, missing just one paycheck can be a significant hardship, as it is for all working Americans. Asking them to go without a full month's pay or more is simply not sustainable."

'We are not going to do anything that will compromise the safety of air transport in the United States.'

"During the shutdown, these professionals are required to oversee the movement of the nation’s passengers and cargo while many are working ten-hour days and six-day workweeks due to the ongoing staffing shortage, all without pay," continued Daniels. "This situation creates substantial distractions for individuals who are already engaged in extremely stressful work. The financial and mental strain increases risks within the National Airspace System, making it less safe with each passing day of the shutdown."

Bryan Bedford, the administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration, noted that a recent deep dive into National Airspace System data revealed both "issues of fatigue" among controllers and pressures building in a way that if left unchecked could impact air safety.

"The data is telling us we need to do more, and we are going to do more," said Bedford.

"We're going to look for a ratable reduction across these 40 markets over the next 48 hours," said the FAA administrator.

"We’re not going to wait for a safety problem to truly manifest itself when the early indicators are telling us we can take action today to prevent things from deteriorating."

While the FAA has not released the final list of airports that will have their capacity cut, a source provided a proposed list to CBS News naming the following airports:

  • Anchorage International (ANC)
  • Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International (ATL)
  • Boston Logan International (BOS)
  • Baltimore/Washington International (BWI)
  • Charlotte Douglas International (CLT)
  • Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International (CVG)
  • Dallas Love (DAL)
  • Ronald Reagan Washington National (DCA)
  • Denver International (DEN)
  • Dallas/Fort Worth International (DFW)
  • Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County (DTW)
  • Newark Liberty International (EWR)
  • Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood International (FLL)
  • Honolulu International (HNL)
  • Houston Hobby (HOU)
  • Washington Dulles International (IAD)
  • George Bush Houston Intercontinental (IAH)
  • Indianapolis International (IND)
  • New York John F. Kennedy International (JFK)
  • Las Vegas Harry Reid International (LAS)
  • Los Angeles International (LAX)
  • New York LaGuardia (LGA)
  • Orlando International (MCO)
  • Chicago Midway (MDW)
  • Memphis International (MEM)
  • Miami International (MIA)
  • Minneapolis/St. Paul International (MSP)
  • Oakland International (OAK)
  • Ontario International (ONT)
  • Chicago O'Hare International (ORD)
  • Portland International (PDX)
  • Philadelphia International (PHL)
  • Phoenix Sky Harbor International (PHX)
  • San Diego International (SAN)
  • Louisville International (SDF)
  • Seattle/Tacoma International (SEA)
  • San Francisco International (SFO)
  • Salt Lake City International (SLC)
  • Teterboro (TEB)
  • Tampa International (TPA)

"If the pressures continue to build even after we take these measures, we'll come back and take additional measures," continued the FAA administrator. "We're trying to be prescriptive, surgical, put the relief where the relief will do the most good, but again, we are not going to do anything that will compromise the safety of air transport in the United States."

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters on Tuesday, "We want to reopen the government so we can resume travel in the safest and most efficient way possible, especially as we head into the busiest travel season."

Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

Southwest Can’t Gentle-Parent Loyal Customers Like Me Into Accepting Its Self-Destruction

For decades, SWA prided itself on being more than a business. Now, it’s choosing to die on the hill of sacrificing its customers for profit.

Southwest Airlines: Where Freedom (Open Seating) Goes To Die

[rebelmouse-proxy-image https://thefederalist.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Screenshot-2024-07-25-at-10.08.18 AM-e1721920125172-1200x675.png crop_info="%7B%22image%22%3A%20%22https%3A//thefederalist.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Screenshot-2024-07-25-at-10.08.18%5Cu202fAM-e1721920125172-1200x675.png%22%7D" expand=1]RIP open seating. You were the last semblance of freedom in a greedy industry dominated by subsidized tyrants.

Mother suing American Airlines over son's heart attack death during flight, alleging defibrillator was faulty and crew unprepared



A New York City mother filed a federal lawsuit against American Airlines over the 2022 death of her 14-year-old son. The suit alleges that the plane's onboard defibrillator did not function correctly and accuses the flight crew of being unprepared and not being properly trained to use the medical equipment.

Melissa Arzu and her son were on American Airlines flight 614 from Honduras to Miami after enjoying a family summer vacation. During the flight, her son suddenly experienced a medical emergency.

Her 14-year-old son, Kevin Greenidge, allegedly lost consciousness shortly after takeoff.

The lawsuit – filed in federal court in Fort Worth, Texas, where American Airlines is headquartered – alleged that the flight crew was "delayed in responding" to Greenidge's medical episode.

The lawsuit claims that crewmembers "eventually attempted to use" the plane's automated external defibrillator, but they were "either unable to properly operate the machine or the machine did not function properly."

The suit alleges that the crew was not properly trained on how to use the type of AED that was on the flight.

The flight made an emergency landing in Cancun, Mexico. Greenidge was rushed to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

The New York Post reported that Kevin had been diagnosed with asthma and type 2 diabetes prior to his death, and that his primary cause of death was listed as "myocardial infarction" — commonly known as a heart attack.

The lawsuit claims that Greenidge's chances of survival would have "vastly" increased if the flight had a functioning AED that the crew knew how to use.

"After Kevin died, I never heard from American Airlines," Arzu said. "It made me feel hopeless. I want answers from American Airlines. I want American Airlines to take full responsibility for Kevin’s death. I never want this to happen to a child or family again."

American Airlines told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram: "Our thoughts are with Mr. Greenridge’s loved ones. We are going to decline further comment given this matter involves pending litigation."

Hannah Crowe, the attorney representing Arzu, said, "The loss of a child is truly unimaginable, and the facts of this case are horrendous. Multiple eyewitnesses confirm that American Airlines flight personnel were slow to respond and not able to operate the AED machine, which appeared not to work."

Crowe alleged, "After Kevin died, the equipment went missing. Did someone at American intentionally destroy it? Is it defective, but back out in service? These are all really serious violations of the federal laws that are in place to protect passengers."

The lawsuit also claims that American Airlines failed to submit an advance payment of $113,100 for the sudden death of the teen, as per the company’s policy regarding the death of a passenger while on board.

Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

American Airlines sued after 14-year-old dies www.youtube.com

Plane makes emergency landing after section blew out mid-flight, Alaska Airlines grounds entire Boeing 737 Max fleet



An Alaskan Airlines plane was forced to make an emergency landing after a section of the aircraft blew out mid-flight. Following the terrifying incident, Alaskan Airlines has taken the precautionary step of grounding its entire fleet of Boeing 737-9 Max aircraft.

Dramatic video and photos have emerged from Alaskan Airlines Flight 1282 – which was traveling from Portland International Airport to Ontario, California. The Boeing 737-9 Max was transporting six crew members and 171 passengers, and took off shortly before 5 p.m. on Friday.

The plane was airborne for about 20 minutes until "the crew reported a pressurization issue," according to the Federal Aviation Administration.

During the flight, a section of the plane's fuselage fell off – including the panel's window. Luckily, no passengers were sitting in the window seat next to the huge opening.

— (@)

The sudden damage to the airliner caused cell phones belonging to passengers to be sucked out of the gaping hole in the plane.

A child sitting relatively close to the damaged part of the airliner lost his shirt because of the vacuum of the damaged plane.

Video shows oxygen masks deployed throughout the plane.

A photo of the alarming occurrence was captured by passenger Kyle Rinker.

“It was really abrupt. Just got to altitude, and the window/wall just popped off and didn’t notice it until the oxygen masks came off,” Rinker told CNN.

Passenger Evan Smith told KPTV, "There was a really loud bang toward the rear of the plane, and a whoosh noise, and all of the masks dropped."

— (@)

Flight 1282 made an emergency landing at Portland International Airport at 5:27 p.m., according to FlightAware.

The Port of Portland Fire Department responded to the emergency landing and noted that one person received medical treatment but no serious injuries were reported.

Alaskan Airlines said in a statement, "The safety of our guests and employees is always our primary priority. So while this type of occurrence is rare, our flight crew was trained and prepared to safely manage the situation."

Alaskan Airlines grounded its entire fleet of Boeing 737-9 Max aircraft.

Alaskan Airlines CEO Ben Minicucci said of the incident:

At Alaska Airlines, safety is our foundational value and the most important thing we focus on every day. Following tonight’s event on Flight 1282, we have decided to take the precautionary step of temporarily grounding our fleet of 65 Boeing 737-9 aircraft. Each aircraft will be returned to service only after completion of full maintenance and safety inspections. We anticipate all inspections will be completed in the next few days. I am personally committed to doing everything we can to conduct this review in a timely and transparent way. We are working with Boeing and regulators to understand what occurred tonight, and will share updates as more information is available.

Boeing said in a statement, "We are aware of the incident involving Alaska Airlines Flight 1282. We are working to gather more information and are in contact with our airline customer."

The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board are launching investigations into the situation with the Boeing 737-9 Max aircraft.

Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!