INDIANAPOLIS — Air travel restrictions continue Friday night due to the government shutdown impacting Hoosiers at Indianapolis International Airport (IND).
Experts who spoke with WRTV talked about the lingering impacts of the shutdown and what travelers need to consider ahead of Thanksgiving plans.
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"Even though you see it's kind of it is pitched as it's only those 40 major airports, but pretty much every airport is going to be obviously impacted," Volodymyr Bilotkach, an Associate Professor of Aviation Management at Purdue University, said.
And Hoosier travelers are already feeling the strain. More than a dozen flights were canceled or delayed at IND on Friday.
"The airlines will first start cutting on domestic capacity, and they will try to avoid cutting especially long-haul international services because the scheduled recovery is much more complicated for those flights," Bilotkach said.
"I definitely expect more cancellations. I think you can tell, the feeling around TSA when I was going through it at the airport, they're hurting,” Victoria Fricke, Owner of Vic’s Vacations, said.
Fricke spoke with WRTV as she was at the airport in Fort Lauderdale, trying to get back to Indianapolis.
"You can sense that the airport has a little bit different of a feel because people are on their phones checking. I had a delay today," Fricke said.
Fricke said, as we head into the holiday travel season, "I wouldn't tell people to cancel plans. I would say have a Plan B, and I would say come to terms now that that Plan B could be a reality," said Fricke.
And if you are caught in a situation where you just might have to pivot.
"If you don't have insurance, the airlines are actually being really gracious right now, allowing you to change without penalty. A lot of them, so long as you didn't have maybe a basic economy ticket. So, I would look at the terms of your ticket prior to travel just so you know what could happen,” Fricke said.
Bilotkach told WRTV that he believes the FAA's reduction of flights now is an active measure to come up with a plan to get through holiday travel.
"This event is better in the sense that the airlines can plan a bit sort of or a bit longer term. Also, at least these next couple of weeks are relatively light as far as travel goes, and I did travel," Bilotkach said.
The union that represents TSA officers across Indiana told WRTV that at least five officers have already walked off the job in Indy, which adds stress for those who continue to work.
"It is absolutely demoralizing that they have to keep on a brave face, smile, be courteous to people, all while not taking a paycheck," Myles Wagner, Executive Director for AFGE, said.
Union leaders said they’re urging federal officials to resolve quickly, before the strain grows even worse for both workers and travelers.
