How government shutdown could impact travel
A potential government shutdown would cause a significant delay in getting more new air traffic controllers operational.
The agency has met this year’s recruiting target to help chronic understaffing.
However, a shutdown would halt training for those not yet qualified.
“It would stop training at the moment when we’re finally trending positive again, in terms of the number of people,” Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said in a House committee hearing.
Recruitment is up to date for this year but many have yet to complete training.
“I’m pleased to say that we hit our target of 1,500 this year to be hired, and we have about 2,600 air traffic controllers in the pipeline,” Buttigieg said.
Funding to agencies the FAA, TSA and Customs and Border Protection would be halted, but would likely not impact travel unless it was a prolonged shutdown.
One area that has impacted tourism during previous government shutdowns is the closure of National Parks.
Still, it could impact the US travel economy by up to $140 million a day, the U.S. Travel Association said.
It would curtail government-related travel and potentially impact visa interview wait times and passport processing.
To avoid any lengthy shutdown impacts, the USTA called on Congress to pass a short-term extension for the FAA.
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Editor for TravelMole North America and Asia pacific regions. Ray is a highly experienced (15+ years) skilled journalist and editor predominantly in travel, hospitality and lifestyle working with a huge number of major market-leading brands. He has also cover in-depth news, interviews and features in general business, finance, tech and geopolitical issues for a select few major news outlets and publishers.
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