TSA screeners at Lafayette Regional Airport are still reporting for duty even as paychecks for Department of Homeland Security workers are delayed, leaving them working without pay. The airport’s lean security team has been keeping flights flowing through the terminal while community volunteers and airport staff quietly scramble to find ways to help.
According to KPEL 96.5, the airport posted on social media asking local residents how best to support its screening staff and listed Transportation Security Manager John Gallet and a phone number for coordination. The post, which KPEL says it published on March 24, reported that 34 TSA workers at Lafayette Regional Airport have been clocking in without getting paid during the funding lapse. The station notes that the post suggested people purchase grocery or gas gift cards to help workers feed their families while pay is suspended.
Why Lafayette matters now
Lafayette is hardly alone in the squeeze, even if it feels especially personal at a regional airport. The Associated Press reports that the partial lapse in DHS funding has pushed many TSA employees nationwide to keep working without pay, increased absenteeism and triggered resignations that have left some checkpoints thinly staffed. The result has been long lines at major hubs such as Houston and New Orleans, along with scaled-back priority lanes during peak travel hours.
How airports and communities are responding
Across the country, airports have started organizing donation drives aimed at helping officers who are pulling unpaid shifts. Denver International and Seattle–Tacoma are among the airports asking for grocery and gas gift cards or stocking staff food pantries to cover immediate needs. Good Morning America and other outlets have highlighted this wave of community support, even as some travelers question whether charity tables at busy terminals should be necessary at all. Federal ethics guidance during a lapse in appropriations says employees may generally accept small, unsolicited non-cash gifts worth under $20, while cash equivalents such as Visa or MasterCard gift cards are prohibited, and advises that donations be routed through management or employee-welfare organizations. HHS publishes the Office of Government Ethics rules that airports and donors are following.
For Lafayette residents who want to assist close to home, KPEL 96.5 directs readers to the airport’s post for coordination and lists John Gallet and the phone number (318) 537-3558 as points of contact. Ethics officials and airport managers say donors should steer clear of giving cash or unrestricted gift cards directly to screeners at checkpoints and instead rely on small, store-specific or gas cards distributed through official channels. That approach lowers the risk of violating gift rules and helps make sure aid reaches the workers who need it most.
The staffing situation got an extra jolt this week when the federal government sent immigration officers to some terminals to help manage lines, a move that has unsettled both travelers and local leaders. The Associated Press reports that ICE personnel were dispatched to select airports after the president said he would send agents to assist with the shortfall, and critics warn that having immigration enforcement present inside terminals could fuel confusion and protests.
Legal and ethics note
Ethics rules during a funding lapse spell out that federal employees may accept unsolicited non-cash gifts valued at $20 or less and must decline cash equivalents, while also stressing that community donations should be funneled through designated channels. The HHS ethics guidance reflects Office of Government Ethics standards and urges airport officials and donors to avoid anything that might look like a reward for doing one’s official job.
For now, travelers passing through Lafayette should expect security lanes to remain open, if possibly stretched thin, while officials keep working with TSA leadership and community partners until federal funding is restored. We will update this story as the airport releases more details and as Congress takes action on DHS funding.
