It’s as bad as it can be. Washington’s budget reductions will result in major air travel delays. Business Travel Sequestration Nightmares Confirmed
There was a great deal of speculation surrounding how the federal budget sequester would impact airline travel and to what extent new delays would occur. Well the speculation has given way to certainty as both the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) have just announced the measures they are going to take to comply with reduced funding. It’s bad.
TSA announced it will implement a hiring freeze, reduce overtime and cut back on workers per shift at airports around the country. As TSA screeners quit, retire or are fired, replacement workers will not be hired. This will lead to a shortfall of around 2,500 workers by the end of September. Business travelers should expect additional delays of 90 minutes to go through security.
CBP announced it will implement worker furloughs (unpaid mini vacations) to cope with budget reductions. It expects a 50 percent increase in the time it takes to get through customs to enter the country. This will likely mean that travelers who must pass through customs to connect to another flight will need to budget an extra hour or two between those flights.
The Federal Aviation Administration already indicated that reductions in air traffic control personnel will lead to additional delays for takeoff and landing.
A little about Mike Periu
Periu founded Proximo, LLC nearly 15 years ago. The company provides small business education and training services with an emphasis on finance and technology.
Periu teaches empowerment through entrepreneurship and economic opportunity. He regularly appears on television and radio talking about these subjects.
Periu also writes for leading blogs about finance. These include: American Express OpenForum, Yahoo! Finanzas and the Huffington Post.
Periu studied Finance and International Business at Georgetown University. He is a Board member at the Council for Economic Education.
