The current government shutdown is now the longest one in U.S. history. As a broad spectrum of federal employees continue to be furloughed, personnel at airports are on the job without pay.
Travelers making their way through the Boise Airport aren’t going to notice anything amiss due to the government shutdown.
“Things are running smoothly,” says Sean Briggs, the airport’s marketing manager. “We have folks working in the air traffic control tower and the security checkpoint, so we’re not seeing any impacts to operations at this time.”
When asked about air traffic controllers working without pay, Briggs suggested contacting the FAA. The regional office is closed due to the partial shutdown of the federal government.
“You may contact this office again after the news reports have advised of resumption of services by all federal agencies,” a recorded voice informs callers.
With no end in sight, Briggs says airport staff are exploring what to do if services are eventually interrupted.
“We don’t see any indications that employees may not show up to work at this time,” Briggs says. “However, we’re discussing internal plans as to how we would react if we had an issue or a hiccup in operations.”
Locally, Idaho Central Credit Union is offering some zero percent interest loans to federal employees affected by the shutdown. Other financial institutions are also offering assistance.
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