(Washington, DC) – In response to the ongoing federal shutdown which has now forced 40 airport closures across the country, disrupting travel and straining local economies just weeks before the start of the busy holiday season––many of them in member mayors’ cities such as Atlanta, Chicago, Los Angeles, Memphis, New York, Philadelphia, Seattle, and Washington, DC.––the African American Mayors Association (AAMA) issued the following statement:

“The ripple effects of these shutdowns are devastating our communities,” said Savannah Mayor Van R. Johnson II, President of the African American Mayors Association (AAMA). “Our airports are not just transit hubs––they are economic lifelines that connect families, sustain small businesses, and power local economies. Every grounded flight means lost wages, delayed goods, and added hardship for working Americans who can least afford it. Every day this shutdown drags on, the cost to our cities and our people grows heavier. The administration and Congress must put politics aside, act with urgency, and restore stability by ending this shutdown now. The American people deserve better.”