GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) – An ongoing partial government shutdown, now in its third week, has impacted air travel across the nation, while local officials are saying their daily operations remain unchanged.
Business, as usual, is the message coming from Austin Straubel International Airport in Green Bay.
The shutdown has created staffing issues and longer checkpoints at some major air travel hubs, such as Dallas-Fort Worth and New York City, but it doesn’t seem to be an issue locally.
“The essential employees are still on the job, which for us, fortunately, hasn’t created any operational impact,” says Airport Director Marty Piette. “All flights continue.”
Piette explains who those essential employees are.
“From a TSA standpoint the security personnel are essential employees to national security,” he says. “The air traffic controllers are considered essential employees from an air traffic control standpoint.”
And a full staff means lines are moving at their typical pace.
“We’ve always told people to arrive about an hour and fifteen minutes before your flight and that still stays the same,” explains Piette.
One concern was that flight delays may take place as planes come and go from various larger airports that have been more affected by the shutdown.
So far, that’s not an issue.
“Flights are still operating on time, so I’m not seeing that impact here in Green Bay,” he explains.
And travelers won’t run into shockingly long lines at screening, which has been the case at some larger airports across the country.
“The essential employees are here and performing their jobs from an air traffic control and from a screening standpoint,” says Piette. “So the traveling public isn’t seeing any change here.”
