Pennsylvania airports decline to show video blaming government shutdown on Democrats

The airport is a no-fly zone for political messaging. 

Airports nationwide – including those in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh – are not displaying a video of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem blaming the ongoing government shutdown and its impacts on Transportation Security Administration operations on congressional Democrats. 

Several government agencies have followed suit after the Trump administration began adopting language blaming Democrats for the federal shutdown. Those efforts include releasing the video for TSA checkpoints that claims “Democrats in Congress refuse to fund the federal government."

Some experts argue it could be a violation of the 1939 Hatch Act, which restricts certain political activities by federal employees to ensure programs are administered in a nonpartisan fashion.  

In the video, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem says because of the shutdown, “many of our operations are impacted, and most of our TSA employees are working without pay." She then expresses "hope" that "Democrats will soon recognize the importance of opening the government.”

According to Axios, PHL spokesperson Heather Redfern said the airport “does not accept or display materials that are political in nature in its facilities.”

And while others are abstaining from airing the video due to its partisan nature, in Pittsburgh it appears to be a technical issue. According to City Cast Pittsburgh, the airport doesn’t “have the assets to accommodate multimedia requests” such as the controversial message. 

Airports in New York, Atlanta, Chicago, Las Vegas, Charlotte, Phoenix, Seattle and more have said the political messaging goes beyond airport policy, and airports in Salt Lake City, Utah and Billings, Montana declined to show the video, with SLC following a state law prohibiting using city-owned property for political purposes. 

Harrisburg International Airport has yet to respond for comment.