Delta Air Lines is drawing praise and criticism online after making two decisions that have infused it into American politics.
The Atlanta-based headline announced Tuesday that it was suspending its travel perks for members of Congress, as the partial government shutdown enters its sixth week and airport security lines grow longer just hours after video footage revealed that the company aided in immigration actions against a 5-year-old boy.
Delta’s special congressional desk program, known as “Delta Desk,” offers members of Congress an array of premium services, including booking flights at deeply discounted rates, making last-minute ticketing changes, and reserving seats on multiple same-day flights to accommodate the timing of congressional votes.
“Due to the impact on resources from the longstanding government shutdown, Delta will temporarily suspend specialty services to members of Congress flying Delta,” Delta said in a statement, per The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “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 suspension comes shortly after the Senate passed a proposal to end special airport privileges that allow Congress members to dart through or altogether skip Transportation Security Administration security checkpoints at airports.
That means they now have to wait in the same long security lines as members of the public while the Department of Homeland Security shutdown continues.
ICE raids and operations across the country are currently a social and political flashpoint and have drawn considerable waves of backlash, especially since the deaths of Renee Good and Alex Pretti.
New video shows that Delta Air Lines flew Liam Ramos and his father to a Texas immigration detention center after they were detained in Minneapolis.
The video was obtained by Nick Benson, a local activist, through a public records request. It shows Liam and his dad at the Minneapolis airport waiting to board a Delta flight before being taken to a detention center in Dilley, Texas.
Benson said this may be the only known video showing how immigration officials transport children on regular commercial flights.
Journalist Gillian Brockell was the first to report on the video.
Delta did not directly comment on the case. The company said it does not know who is on its flights or why they are traveling, because the federal government books tickets through third parties. Delta directed questions to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
Delta also pointed to a news report saying it flew Liam and his father back to Minneapolis later, though that report did not mention Delta by name.
The video clearly shows Liam and his father inside the Minneapolis airport. It also appears to show plainclothes federal agents boarding the plane with them on January 21, one day after Liam was detained.
Democrats are now demanding that immigration agents wear body cameras and conduct operations without masks, but their petition has caused a stalemate in Congress. Both parties are now working out a funding agreement for the DHS.
The impasse has lasted more than a month and has forced thousands of TSA employees to work without pay since February. More than 400 TSA employees have quit their jobs, and hundreds more have called out, leading to staffing shortages that caused major delays at airports nationwide.
Delta’s decision to halt its Delta Desk service was motivated by the prolonged shutdown and the impacts on TSA agents. Delta CEO Ed Bastian claimed the agents are being used as “political chips” in congressional negotiations.
“It’s inexcusable that our security agents, frontline workers central to what we do, are not being paid,” Bastian said. “We’re outraged. Let’s get our people who are essential to our security paid quickly.”
A Delta spokesperson said that members of the U.S. House must now weather the same wait times and customer service experiences as the rest of the airline’s travelers until the shutdown ends and TSA workers are paid.
Most people supported Delta’s decision and hope it will encourage Congress to make a funding compromise quickly.
“No private desk. No special treatment. They now travel like everyone else. And honestly? Good!!” one Threads user commented. ‘Gotta love consequences!” another wrote.
Delta takes pride in its commitment to addressing public policy issues, as stated on the airline’s website, and has made politically driven decisions in the past.
Reactions to Delta transporting Liam to detention fall on opposite ends of the spectrum.
“I just read they are flying detainees to detention centers – bye Delta,” one Threads user wrote. “And that had been one of my preferred airlines. Damn! But what they are doing is horrible!” another person wrote.
“Shame on Delta,” one person simply said.
In 2023, the airline severed its ties to the National Rifle Association after ending discounts for NRA members following the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, that killed 17 people.
Delta’s hub operates in Georgia, a Republican-controlled state, and its decision ruffled feathers among many of the state’s Republicans. Georgia’s then-lieutenant governor, Casey Cagle, threatened to cut Delta’s sales tax exemptions on jet fuel.
After Georgia passed legislation in 2021 to implement new voting restrictions, Delta’s CEO voiced his opposition. Among other restrictions, the law requires identification for mail voting and makes it illegal for volunteers at polling locations to take food or water to voters in line.
Bastian called the law “unacceptable.”
“The entire rationale for this bill was based on a lie: that there was widespread voter fraud in Georgia in the 2020 elections,” Bastian wrote. “This is simply not true. Unfortunately, that excuse is being used in states across the nation that are attempting to pass similar legislation to restrict voting rights. So there is much work ahead, and many more opportunities to have an impact.”
