ALEXANDRIA, Va. (DC News Now) — With a government shutdown looming, a potentially record-breaking holiday travel weekend could be even more hectic.
AAA projects more than 119 million passengers will travel by air between Dec. 21 and New Year’s Day. This is about three million more travelers this holiday season compared to last year.
In addition, the Trade group Airlines for America expects nearly 54 million people to travel by air from Thursday until Jan. 6.
TSA announced it is also prepared to screen about 40 million passengers until Jan. 2.
“I thought it was very long. I didn’t really want to wait in it,” that’s how 10-year-old Camron and his 7-year-old brother Oliver felt when they saw the long TSA lines wrapped around the corner at the Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.
According to AAA, Friday, Sunday, Dec. 27, 28, and 29 are expected to be the busiest travel days, which means long lines.
But, when it comes to airport operations, employees and passengers won’t feel an immediate impact instead it could be long-term.
“It’s it is what it is. I’m just ready to go home, so I’m fine with waiting in a little bit of a line,” said passenger Sarah Havdala.
With a potential government shutdown, it could impact holiday travel and airport employees. Experts say there won’t be an immediate impact but more long-term. A shutdown could lead to more people calling off work, and that means even longer lines for passengers especially during their return home.
“It’s going to stress me out a lot,” said passenger Tiffany Sacra.
“We’ll get here early. She gets me up about three hours before the flight leaves for domestic,” said passenger Jill Wallace.
Lawmakers are encouraging travelers to continue with their holiday plans but to also have patience.
