How is the Shutdown Affecting Travel?
Updated: Mar 24, 2021
As we dive into 2019, you’ve likely read the news or caught even a moment of a late night host discussing the current shutdown in the US Government.
The fallout of which may affect your travel plans in obvious ways, with daily reports balancing both sides of the equation – our takeaway, the travel industry is robust; in travel, the unexpected is always expected. That’s why we travel in the first place, isn’t it?
Early scares of TSA staff call-ins have been largely mitigated
For example, during the previous weekend Miami International dealt with the issue by simply closing the security checkpoint early on Saturday and Sunday at Terminal G. While this did affect passengers on Air Canada flights outbound from Miami, we have a near first-hand account that arriving to the airport 3 hours prior to the scheduled flight time proved more than sufficient.
Record number of visitors to Florida from Canada in 2018 and 2019 shapes up for an incredible start as Sunwing announces packages for both Miami and Caribbean cruises from South Florida
Where’s the news from state parks?
Want to read about the affects on Yosemite and other famous sites of California? You can head over to their site, but you’ll find that the most up to date article is about the 2019 celebration for Discovery of Gold Day and no update exists for access to the park.
We wanted to visit Hawaii this winter, are the state parks in Hawaii open?
As the world's longest island chain, there's an incredible variety of stuff to see and do in Hawaii. But when it comes to its immense outdoor beauty, many of the most anticipated sites and landmarks are actually state parks.
Some areas have faced closure for unrelated reasons during the last 12 months, so partial disruption may already have been expected.
Outside funding helped keep some of the in-park facilities open longer than originally expected, but you can now assume the bulk of those facilities to be disrupted. That can mean slight annoyances such as decreased availability of public toilets or a closed visitor's center; it can also mean no one collecting fees and a pretty much complimentary visit to parks accessible by car or on foot.
An unexpected outcome?
Delta Airlines announced the likely delay to the launch of their A220 due to a shortage of FAA staff to actually sign off on the 100-hour flight requirement.
While Delta’s CEO claims some $25 million per month in revenues to be impacted, we’d add that revenues do not equal profits and that delays & impacts do not equal an overall disaster for a company of Delta’s size.
The type of fallout we’d expect into the Canadian marketplace would be in the roll-out of future partner code share flights with WestJet. But if we never knew the schedule in the first place, are we really affected?
In conclusion, what does it mean for your trip?
As with my colleagues planning additional time into their airport check-in needs, I'd recommend allowing additional time to navigate security checkpoints at airports and cruise terminals.
If you are traveling with small children or others with specific needs, additional time still and perhaps a slightly larger than typical stash of food and drink to help stay comfortable if you do find you're stuck somewhere longer than expected.
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