Winter Storm And Shutdown Could Snarl Holiday Travel

CNN reports:

As Christmas approaches and an expected record number of people across the country set off on their journeys, they may encounter travel trouble: winter weather combined with a possible government shutdown that could leave TSA agents and air traffic controllers working without a paycheck. More than 119 million people are expected to travel at least 50 miles from their homes between Saturday and New Year’s Day, AAA projects, which would make it the busiest year-end holiday travel season on record.

And as the human-made threat of a funding crisis looms, Mother Nature is preparing to deliver a dose of winter weather that could impact travel in parts of the country. The storm will begin to impact major metropolitan areas in the Northeast by Friday morning and should last into Saturday. Washington, DC, New York City, Philadelphia and Boston could see rain mixed with snowfall most of Friday before it transitions to solely snow Friday night into Saturday.

Read the full article.

The government shutdown Republicans are threatening would greatly impact holiday travel. Millions of people flying through US airports, including @LASairport, would face potential delays and safety concerns because of the staffing impacts on @TSA agents & air traffic controllers. pic.twitter.com/x9oKYCqMGn

— Dina Titus (@repdinatitus) December 19, 2024

Millions of Americans plan to travel in the next week so they can spend the holidays with their loved ones—and they should be able to. But if the government shuts down, there’s a looming threat of flight delays and long wait times at airports. We must avoid a painful shutdown.

— Senator Tim Kaine (@SenTimKaine) December 19, 2024