Alaska Air flights out of Paine Field the latest victim of the partial government shutdown

After weeks of speculation, Alaska Airlines officially announced that it would not be able to launch service out of Washington’s Paine Field because of the partial government shutdown. Paine Field, which is 25 minutes north of downtown Seattle, just completed work on a new passenger terminal so it could again be used for commercial air service. Both Alaska Airlines and United plan to offer flights from Paine Field. Alaska’s service was set to commence Feb. 11, but without FAA certification, which is not possible while FAA inspectors are on furlough, the carrier was forced to push its service launch back. Alaska hopes to offer the new flights in March, but again that depends on how long the government shutdown lasts.  United said it still hopes to begin its service from Paine Field on March 31, but an extended shutdown would force them to delay as well. Alaska is working to reschedule customers already booked to Paine Field on flights to Seattle instead or will offer refunds as needed.

More areas of travel could feel the pinch as the government shutdown drags on

As the government shutdown is now into its second month, travel industry officials warn that more travelers will feel the pinch. While TSA screening wait times have been kept in check so far at most airports, industry observers fear that this will change as the total number of air passengers begins to increase as we approach the busy spring break travel season. In addition, as TSA screeners face increasing financial hardships without paychecks, morale continues to decline, call out rates have gone up and there are growing fears that many workers will simply quit for other jobs where paychecks are not an issue, leaving staff shortages down the road.

Airlines, hoteliers, and more are also beginning to experience more issues due to the continued shutdown. Besides Alaska Airlines being unable to launch flights from Paine Field as mentioned above, Southwest is still without the government approval it needs to launch its long range over-the-water flights to Hawaii as planned, while Delta’s new Airbus A220 aircraft and American’s new Airbus A321 will have to remain in the hangers until FAA inspectors can go back to work as government approval is still pending for the new planes. Plus, any airline with aircraft in repair stations are feeling the pinch as those planes need safety sign-offs before they can be returned to their fleets.

Some hoteliers are reporting that the impasse on Capitol Hill is also impacting them. For example, in Washington D.C. with national parks and museums still being closed along with furloughed government employees not traveling or people doing business with the government not coming to town, booking rates are down. Industry analysts say decreased bookings may result in layoffs, and lost revenue for travel suppliers will likely be passed on to consumers through higher prices, all of which further increases the number of people being affected by the shutdown in the long run.