URGENT UPDATE: A video featuring U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem blaming the federal government shutdown for potential flight delays is currently NOT being shown at Hector International Airport in Fargo. Airport officials confirmed that the video is absent as of now, raising questions among travelers.
The Municipal Airport Authority Chair Paula Ekman stated that the board last convened on October 14 and did not address this issue. However, she clarified to local media that the controversial video is not playing at Hector. “Travelers may be confusing an older video featuring Noem with the new one,” Ekman noted.
Nationwide, numerous airports, including the ten busiest, have opted out of airing the latest Noem video due to concerns regarding the Hatch Act, which restricts political activities by federal civil service employees. The Metropolitan Airports Commission, which oversees Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, has also withheld the video while the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) evaluates a request for its airing.
Reports indicate that the Noem video may have aired briefly at Fargo Airport for about an hour on Wednesday, but there was no audio. Ekman emphasized that the airport does not control which videos are played, stating, “We don’t really determine what’s being played.” She acknowledged public concerns, commenting, “People are making their concerns known, and that’s the American way.”
In the disputed video, Noem asserts that TSA’s priority is to provide travelers with “the most pleasant and efficient” experience. She blames congressional Democrats for the shutdown, stating, “Democrats in Congress refuse to fund the federal government, and because of this, many of our operations are impacted and most of our TSA employees are working without pay.” Noem urged a resolution to the shutdown to prevent travel delays.
The federal government shutdown commenced on October 1 after a partisan conflict over the extension of subsidies for the Affordable Care Act marketplaces led to Congress failing to pass a budget, impacting numerous federal services.
As the situation develops, travelers and airport officials alike are left questioning the implications of the ongoing shutdown on air travel. Stay tuned for further updates as this story unfolds.
