While early October saw thousands of meeting planners, hotel sales managers, and destination reps attending industry shows such as IMEX America and The Lodging Conference, the budget impasse in Congress made air travel especially difficult for them and other business travelers.
As a result, the U.S. Travel Association (USTA) estimates that the shutdown of the government since October 1 has resulted in more than $1 billion in losses—and the USTA claims that same financial loss will happen every week until the situation is resolved.
“This shutdown is doing real, irreversible damage,” said Geoff Freeman, president and CEO of the USTA. “Travelers are facing longer TSA lines and flight delays. Airports are reducing flights and we’ve seen entire control towers go dark. The longer this drags on, the worse the cascade of damage will be—for local communities, for small businesses and for the country. Congress needs to act now and reopen the government.”
Although TSA employees and air traffic controllers are considered essential federal workers and must continue to work despite their paychecks being held back until a Congressional budget resolution happens, enough of them are staying home from work that travelers flying through major airports are experiencing significant uncertainty in their travel plans.
“It is safe to fly, but ATC staffing shortages strain the system and cause flights to be spaced out, slowing down everything. In some cases, flights may be delayed or even canceled,” Airlines for America, the industry’s trade group, said in a statement.
With October a huge month for meetings, conventions and trade shows across North America—October 9 was the 12th busiest air-travel day of the year, according to the Transportation Security Administration, with other October dates also expected to have especially high passenger numbers—a lengthy federal-budget impasse would have a decidedly negatively effect on upcoming business events and their participants.
