As the government is recuperating from the record 44-day-long shutdown, families across the U.S. are wondering if airports will be fully functional and ready to operate for when it comes time for Thanksgiving.
Thanksgiving, along with other popular activities like Black Friday, fall near the end of November, creating one of the most popular times for air travel in the U.S.
Thanksgiving is important due to its focus on family.
Flights around this time are dedicated to visiting families that live far away. Others may use the time as a vacation, since Thanksgiving is considered to be a federal holiday.
The main reason people use air travel is because of distance. Many families and friends live far away, which means they usually resort to air travel. Recently, though, a lot of people have been concerned about flying after the government closed its doors for over a month.
As the government shutdown went into full effect, many government programs and federal workers started to slow down and eventually lay off their employees, as most government shutdowns happen to do.
While this is ordinary for a shutdown, the issue stems from how long it took for the shutdown to finish, creating a large gap of work hours that employees were getting zero pay for.
Weeks into the shutdown, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) made the decision to cancel 10% of all flight traffic in the U.S. because of air traffic controller shortages.
Aircraft and TSA workers began to suffer from the shutdown, as workers were not getting paid and didn’t show up to their jobs. This created hour-long lines for security checks, thousands of cancelled flights, and general outrage from the public.
People needed to show up to the airport multiple hours early just so they could safely go through the massive security lines, but even then, there was the chance that people would get a notification about their flights being cancelled.
After the shutdown was over, many questioned how quick air travel could recover, as Thanksgiving was just around the corner.
According to the American Automobile Association, an estimated 81.8 million Americans are predicted to travel from the span of Nov. 25 to Dec. 1. It’s one of the biggest times for travel, rivaling Christmas in how busy it gets.
Airports have many working parts, both inside and on the airfield. To function properly, they need security, plane captains, flight attendants, janitors, and more.
Every job is important to keep the airport consistent, as millions of people take flights every day.
Despite the many setbacks airports faced during the shutdown, their recovery has been steady, and it seems likely that there will be no lingering issues or delays with flights.
The Federal Aviation Administration announced on Nov. 16 that the 10% air travel lift was terminated, allowing flights to resume normally without the potential of getting cancelled.
While everything is going back to normal after a lengthy period of no federal support, families can be assured that they will be able to get on a plane without having to deal with hour long security lines or constant flight cancellations.
