The lines at Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport stretched into the parking garage most days during the early weeks of March with passengers often waiting more than four hours to clear TSA checkpoints.
The story was the same at major airports across the country as the partial government shutdown entered its fourth week.
For most Americans, the partial shutdown has created an inconvenience limited to the traveling public. But for the 60,000 employees of the Transportation Security Administration who were not receiving paychecks, the shutdown created severe hardship for them and their families, and a financial crisis that was not their making.
As the shutdown dragged on, Keesler Federal found an innovative way to help these families by bringing its Paycheck Relief program directly to TSA employees at the airports they served.
Keesler Federal first developed its Paycheck Relief program in October 2025 in answer to the 47-day federal government shutdown—the longest in United States history. Under the program, Keesler Federal advanced paychecks for its members who were federal employees with direct deposit. These were not loans, but rather straight salary advances. No fees or interest were charged to members who availed themselves of Paycheck Relief. During last year’s shutdown, Keesler Federal advanced more than 5,000 paychecks to 1,720 members totaling $6.5 million. The money was recovered after federal employees received their back pay.
For the latest shutdown, Keesler Federal coordinated with TSA and airport officials across its geographic footprint and took Paycheck Relief directly to the airports to serve TSA employees—regardless of whether they were members of the credit union. This was taking Paycheck Relief to the next level by signing up members on the spot to immediately begin advancing their paychecks.
Keesler Federal personnel were dispatched to airports starting at Gulfport-Biloxi International Airport and then moving on to Louis Armstrong in New Orleans; Jackson-Medgar Wiley Evers International Airport in Jackson, MS; Mobile Regional Airport in Mobile, AL; and beyond.
The credit union had to amended its charter to allow it to sign up TSA personnel working at the 21 airports across Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama in its service area.
In the first two weeks of reaching out directly to TSA personnel, Keesler Federal signed up 150 TSA agents for Paycheck Relief and has advanced almost $300,000 in paychecks. The program will continue until the shutdown ends and TSA paychecks are stabilized once again.
