Travel groups ‘relieved’ at resumption of US federal shutdown
The United States Travel Association has praised the ending of the government shutdown.
USTA president and CEO Roger Dow welcomed the resumption, which will see federal employees back at work after the longest government shutdown in history.
A stop-gap funding deal was reluctantly agreed over the weekend, which will cover the next three weeks at least.
Dow said: "The U.S. travel community thanks the president and congressional leaders for reaching an agreement that hopefully averts further disruption to air transportation, which undoubtedly would have begun to generate downstream economic damage throughout the country.
"Likewise, the reopening of national parks, plus the resumption of government travel and government-related business travel, will halt the estimated $100 million in daily cost the loss of those activities has been imposing on the economy."
The news of a temporary deal to end the shutdown came just hours after the ‘tipping point’ was reached as delayed passengers fumed in airports.
Airports including LaGuardia and Newark saw delays as authorities struggled to man air traffic control towers along the East Coast with enough staff.
Just before announcing the shutdown, the White House said: "We are monitoring the delays at some airports."
It appears the FAA being forced to ground flights for safety was the final straw.
Kathryn Wilde, CEO of the Partnership for New York City, said: "When the airport goes
Transport Workers Union of America International president John Samuelson called it a ‘welcome reprieve,’ but said the damage has already been done, citing about 1,800 TSA security screeners who have already quit.
"We were spiralling to a point where the threshold over what’s safe and not safe was going to quickly be crossed," he said.
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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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