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DHS Shutdown

Anyone planning to travel by air in the next few days should be aware of a possible shutdown of parts of the Department of Homeland Security.

TSA wiorkers may be effected the most. They are considered essential workers and must continue on the job. However, if this shutdown lasts long enough, they may go without a paycheck or two. Be prepared for fewer TSA employees and fewer available security lines.

CPB officers, who we meet as we go through immigration, are also essential, but they have separate funding that can be drawn on for their paychecks.

The shutdown is scheduled to start tomorrow.

Posted by
1184 posts

This post will not get "whacked" for as long as the thread remains about the affects on travel. Aka this thread is not an invitation to comment on the related the politics.

I have a flight next week, so I appreciate the reminder, Frank. I may head to the airport a bit earlier.

Posted by
3179 posts

One other thing to consider is if the airlines have to start juggling flights again because of this while they tend to not impact the international flights. It does impact the feeder flights into the international departures.

So pay attention to your flight. Do not wait on the airline to tell you there’s been a change or cancellation. you want to be watching it proactively because the early bird gets the worm (a.k.a. is the better options on rebooking. )

Posted by
4358 posts

We have a west to east coast flight next week. Keeping up to date on this situation. We reserved somewhat cancelable NYC lodging I think. Time to check the fine print on everything…

Posted by
13337 posts

The Capitol emptied out Thursday, a full day before the midnight Friday deadline for funding the Department of Homeland Security. Lawmakers ..... headed home for a week long recess, seemingly unconcerned with the looming closure.
( Excerpt of a NYT article in the Seattle Times)

Perhaps they know something about what is looming and 'got out of Dodge' while the getting was good?

As already noted, if you have near term flying travel plans, keep a close eye on what is happening.

Posted by
517 posts

Thanks so much for posting this. I'm bookmarking this topic. I hope people keep posting updates and experiences as we move into this.

Posted by
1981 posts

Just to clarify, air traffic controllers are funded by the Federal Aviation Administration which is part of the Department of Transportation, not the Department of Homeland Security. So air traffic controllers will get paid. The TSA is funded by DHS, so that is where things may get sticky.

Posted by
17941 posts

I have a flight next week, so I appreciate the reminder, Frank. I may
head to the airport a bit earlier.

Noooooo!!!! I don't know what worries me more: the DHS shutdown, or our Webmaster leaving us to the spammers, scammers and other varmints!
(Just kidding, Andrew. We'll be in good hands, I'm sure. )

Posted by
239 posts

Hopefully the TSA Touchless ID lanes will provide some relief for passengers who've opted in.

Posted by
11426 posts

Hopefully the TSA Touchless ID lanes will provide some relief for passengers who've opted in.

Unfortunately, some of those are still just at the major airports. If anyone is interested, here's a link that will show all the airports that are using it. It depends on the airline as well.

https://www.tsa.gov/touchless-id

Posted by
3779 posts

Hopefully the TSA Touchless ID lanes will provide some relief for
passengers who've opted in.

Unfortunately, some of those are still just at the major airports. If
anyone is interested, here's a link that will show all the airports
that are using it. It depends on the airline as well.

https://www.tsa.gov/touchless-id

Even if your airport has touchless and you are signed up, you may not get to use it. That was the case for me in Portland (PDX) last week. But TSA pre-check had no line so it went quickly in any case.