ROCHESTER, N.Y. — The Rochester airport was bustling Thursday but on Friday there may not be quite as many smiles as the trickle down impact of the government shutdown starts to hit air travel.
“Right now, I think we’re in pretty good shape,” says Andy Moore, airport director. “I don’t know how it’s going to be moving into the weekend and into the next week when those flight reductions start but you’ve got to be honest about it, when you look at those large hub airports and most of our non-stops are to some of those large hub airports so, we have to believe there’s going to be some impact on some of the flights coming and going out of Rochester.”
When it comes to the air traffic controllers who are still working without getting paid, Moore says he’s in constant communication with the tower manager. “We’re in good shape here in Rochester, we can’t control what happens in other geographical regions across the country with the FAA and their tower staffing but we are in good shape here in Rochester as of today.”
The Rochester airport works with a federal TSA contractor to handle security but the workers here are in the same boat as TSA workers across the country, still, they continue to show up. “As far as I know they’re not being paid as of today but they continue to show up,” Moore says, “our wait times are pretty consistent with what they’ve been in the past, we have the pre-check open, we have the regular lanes open, 6 lanes are open most of the time.”
So, what should you do if you’ve got a trip planned in the next few days? “Just keep checking with your airlines, stay on top of that, know the numbers that you may need to call if there’s any kind of a hiccup with your travel plans,” Moore advises.
Airlines are all offering full refunds on flights that are cancelled and allowing free flight changes if you don’t want to take the risk. They all say they’ll reach out directly to impacted travelers but you should keep a close eye on your flight statuses online or on the airlines’ apps.
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