INDIANAPOLIS — The government shutdown is having a ripple effect across the country. WRTV‘s Amber Grigley was at the Indianapolis International Airport to see how TSA is continuing operation while looking ahead to another busy travel season.
"Nobody wants to come to work and not know whether or not you're going to get paid,” Arnold Scott, 6th District National Vice President for the American Federation of Government Employees, said.
This is the unfortunate dilemma that TSA agents are facing while the government is shut down.
"TSA would be considered essential. What that means, essential employees, is they have to come in, they have to work," Scott said.
Essential employees who work during the shutdown typically receive back pay once the government funding starts flowing again.
Scott said the longer the shutdown lasts, the scarier it can get for both workers and travelers.
"What they're doing is it makes it unsafe for the individual who's flying, you know what I mean? Because if you don't have enough staff to do the work that you need to do, it becomes a safety issue," Scott said.
With fall break coming up, Indianapolis International Airport anticipates travel to reach new records. To accommodate, TSA checkpoints will open at 3 a.m. from October 6 to 24.
“It means that they're going to have to come in. They're going to have to get up, come in early and it's the same thing. They're not getting paid," Scott said.
"Whether it's a government shutdown or not, travel insurance has, it's always going to be," Victoria Fricke, Owner of Vic’s Vacations, said.
Fricke said now more than ever is the best time for travelers to have protection.
"Number one is going to be what's going to happen at the airport with TSA, and number two is going to be the fear of being able to pay for the vacation," said Fricke. "At this point, most people probably already paid in full for their vacation. If it's something right around the corner, which means if you were to cancel, you're probably in penalty unless there's a really good cancellation policy attached to your reservation, and every trip is different."
