Airport TSA employees and air traffic controllers throughout the United States are refusing to show up to work because of the government shutdown.
Government employees have not gotten paid since the U.S. government shut down on Oct. 1. Employees are expected to receive back pay, but this does not solve the current situation.
Students looking to travel for the weeks leading up to Thanksgiving may face major troubles.
Marcel Wolsfelt, a passenger traveling from Chicago to Florida, experienced two delays trying to get home on Sunday, Nov. 2.
“I am hoping the government shutdown ends soon so that this all gets rectified and situated,” Wolsfelt said.
According to CBS Mornings, “…the airlines say more than 3.2 million flyers have already experienced delays or cancellations due to air traffic control staffing issues during the shutdown.”
Wait times topped over three hours in security lines and flights at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport this past weekend and are expected to continue if the shutdown persists.
“I’m worried about traveling in the upcoming weeks because I have an exam the day I return. If my flight gets delayed or if my checked bag takes forever, it could really throw everything off and cause me to miss my exam,” said Corey Blake Townsend, a junior sports broadcasting major traveling to Chicago in two weeks for his birthday.
Travelers who had TSA PreCheck still experienced more than a 40-minute wait to get through security lines in Chicago O’Hare International Airport.
Employees are urging passengers to arrive at airports early, in case of long lines, and to prepare to wait for long delays.
The latest from AP News…
Anxious travelers across the U.S. felt a bit of relief Friday as airlines mostly stayed on schedule while cutting more than 1,000 flights because of the government shutdown.
Plenty of nervousness remained, though, as more canceled flights are expected in the coming days to comply with the Federal Aviation Administration’s order to reduce service at the busiest airports.
While the FAA order left some passengers making backup plans and reserving rental cars, the routes scratched Friday represented just a small portion of the overall flights nationwide.
Passengers still faced last-minute cancellations and long security lines at the 40 airports targeted by the slowdown including major hubs in Atlanta, Dallas, Denver, and Charlotte, North Carolina.
Airlines expect limited disruptions this weekend and stressed that international flights are not expected to be affected.
But if the shutdown persists much longer, and more controllers call out of work after they miss their second paycheck on Tuesday, the number of cancellations could jump from the initial 10% reduction of flights to 15% or 20%, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said on Fox News Friday.
Josh Funk and Rio Yamat (AP News) contributed to this report.
