ALERT: Travel During the U.S. Government Shutdown (January 22, 2018)

Wednesday, January 22, 2018

Alert – Travel During the U.S. Government Shutdown

The U.S government is in its third day of being shut down, but may soon reach a resolution. However, due to this shutdown, several parts of travel requiring government cooperation are being affected.

Customs & Border Protection reports that Global Entry application appointments will be suspended.

According to the Los Angeles Times, those applying for passports may face a longer waiting time:

The State Department will continue to issue passports and provide other consular services in the event of a government shutdown, the agency said Friday as lawmakers faced a deadline to pass a spending measure.

In a memo sent to department employees, William Todd, the agency’s acting director of human resources, said that consular services will be “100% operational” as long as there remains enough fee revenue available.

Passport agencies located in federal buildings affected by a lapse in funding, however, may be closed down, he wrote.

“The Department will continue as many normal operations as possible,” Todd wrote. “Operating status and available funding will need to be monitored continuously and closely, and planning for a lapse in appropriations must be continued.”

If the government shuts down, the State Department will become minimally staffed, the guidance says, and excepted employees — those who must continue working in the event of a shutdown — should cease communications with nonessential employees.

The Smithsonian will remain open today.

USA Today reports the differences in national park closures between this government shutdown and the previous one in regards to national parks:

The big difference this time around is that monuments and parts of most national parks will remain open during the shutdown.

During the last shutdown, in 2013, the Obama administration closed park entrances and put up barriers around national monuments. The policy sparked a public outrage when veterans were turned away from the World War II Memorial in Washington.

Trump and his team don’t want to repeat that fiasco. Most national parks roads and monuments and the private concessions that serve them remain open this time.

Services that require staffing and maintenance, such as campgrounds, full service restrooms, and concessions that require some park staff or assistance will not be operating, the Interior Department said.

Travel + Leisure noted that air travelers shouldn’t be too affected by the shutdown:

The good news is that Transportation Security Administration agents, border security agents, air traffic controllers and immigration enforcement officials are considered essential personnel. They will continue working through the shutdown.

The impact on air travel should be minimal. Just 13% of the Homeland Security department would be furloughed in the event of a government shutdown, the Washington Post reports.

Airports and flights should run on schedule, though there may be some delays if “non-essential” employees are furloughed in a shutdown.

Travel professionals are encouraged to keep up with the latest news about passport issues on the State Department’s website: https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/traveladvisories/ea/passport-services-government-shutdown.html

Read more in Travel Pulse and Skift.

Please contact the PR Team if you have any concerns: TravelLeadersGroupPR@TravelLeaders.com.