Airport director says trust will provide meals, gift cards to TSA staff during federal shutdown

The Oklahoma City Airport Trust on March 26 heard that airport management is providing meals and non-cash gift cards to Transportation Security Administration employees affected by a federal staffing shutdown, part of local efforts to maintain operations amid staffing strains.

"We are providing lunch or dinner for our TSA employees at the airport, working with our restaurant provider, Parodies," the Director of Airports said during the director's report, describing a program that offers one meal per shift for TSA staff. The director said the program began immediately and "we may extend it into next week" depending on need.

The director also said the airport has arranged to provide non-cash cards (for groceries or fuel), in line with TSA guidelines that such support be tied to products rather than cash. When asked how many TSA staff work in Oklahoma City, a speaker replied, "180 in Oklahoma City," a figure the trust used to describe the scale of the staffing group affected.

The report framed these measures as temporary operational support while noting the airport had not suffered significant operational disruptions through a busy spring-break period and NCAA tournament traffic. "We were up in February," the director said, summarizing recent airline activity after a January decline.

The director also highlighted internal workforce development and a new public exhibit. He recognized employees who completed the Oklahoma Certified Airport Professional certification program run by the Oklahoma Airport Operators Association and described a new Will Rogers exhibit near Gate 14 developed with the Will Rogers Museum. The exhibit includes an interactive map and postcards the airport will distribute, and staff said a public ribbon-cutting is planned once the current homeland security-related restrictions ease.

The board did not take a formal vote on the director's report; it was presented for information and routine acknowledgment. The director characterized the airport's short-term support measures as efforts to "help them continue to get through this" while the federal situation evolves.