Amid Shutdown Lift — Students Continue to Navigate their Travel Plans

Despite the recent end of the most prolonged government shutdown in American history, students are still experiencing uncertainty regarding their travel plan status. 

Since the order’s lift Nov. 12, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and Transportation Department officials have yet to provide any updates on the status of flight cuts, the Associated Press reported. 

Flights across the nation have been cancelled due to a shortage of air traffic controllers, who received less pay during the shutdown, the AP reported. As the FAA ordered a cut in domestic traffic, 40 major hubs were required to scale back on all commercial airline flights — including both of Chicago’s major airports: Midway and O’Hare. 

Fourth-year business management major Mary Jankowski said she usually flies to her hometown of Detroit for Thanksgiving. This year, she said she weighed the options between paying for a flight and staying with friends, with the possibility of family visiting at some other point in the year. 

While the slightly higher airfare convinced Jankowski to take the latter option, she said the possible issues with TSA were the nail in the coffin. She said she noticed the possibility’s effects amongst friends, including one who usually flies for free, given their father’s occupation as a pilot. 

“It was one of those things where they didn’t know what was going to happen to their airline, so they needed something more prominent,” Jankowski said. 

Third-year philosophy and theatre major Danny Kaatz said they planned to travel back to their home state of California for the Thanksgiving break.

A recent situation where a visiting friend faced uncertainty returning home left Kaatz unsure if they could leave Chicago due to the cancelations. While Kaatz said they were aware of the potential for the previous shutdown to cause problems, they accepted the situation for what it is.

“I try to say if it causes problems, then I did the best I can to go back.” Kaatz said. “No one can be mad at me, and I’ll probably get a refund.” 

Leading up to the end of the shutdown, first-year international business major Delina Michael said she was feeling anxious on her flight to visit extended family in North Carolina. Michael’s uncle purchased the ticket as a welcome gift from Michael studying abroad in the United States from Ethiopia. Although she originally wanted to cancel plans, she hoped officials would find a way to act in response to the holiday rush.

“I kept calling my mom, telling her TSA is cancelling flights.” Michael said. “I was scared the money was going to go to waste.” 

Upon hearing the shutdown was lifted, Michael said it felt as if a weight was lifted off her shoulders. 

Along with concerns over her Thanksgiving flight, Michael especially felt worried about her international flight back to Ethiopia for winter break. The trip would have been her first chance to see family after months studying in Chicago. 

“All of the thoughts hit me together like a truck.” Michael said. “I haven’t seen my cousin in six years, and I want to visit her. When I thought I may not be able to go back until the summer, everything felt like a trainwreck.” 

Third-year biology major Simel Zafar said she was aware of how the shutdown affected flights through social media, but has yet to receive any shutdown-related alerts from her airline regarding her trip home to Nevada. She said the potential for cancellations felt stressful as the semester comes to a close. 

“I like knowing there’s a reward at the end of the day,” Zafar said. “If I dont get to go home then I feel like I’m stuck in that finals mindset. Feeling stuck at school makes the mood a little less exciting.”

Zafar said while the end of the shutdown has eased her concerns, she plans to make the best of the situation in Chicago if her plans fall short. On the other hand, third-year forensic science major Anna Chang said she altered her plans altogether after hearing about the shutdown. 

Chang said she usually flies to her home state of Missouri for Thanksgiving given the short timeframe of the break. She decided to book an Amtrak instead, where she said she felt slightly fortunate for the alternative transportation option. 

“I’ve had friends talking about how they were worried about their flights going home.” Chang said. “I was worried for them because some of them live all the way in the East Coast or in New Jersey where you can’t just take the train back. It would be like a two day train.”

Third-year Bre Knight, who drives home from southern Illinois said she didn’t understand the shutdown’s scale until she saw crowds reminding her of concert mobs at airports over social media. 

Knight said she felt grateful for her family’s close proximity to Chicago, especially with the stress of finals where he has everything falling on her plate. 

However, she voiced frustration over the larger political implications of the shutdown, explaining she felt defeated after the shutdown caused so much suffering and uncertainty without accomplishing its goals. 

“I think the cause for the shutdown was necessary, and then they took it back.” Knight said. “They tried to ‘never mind it,’ and I minded it.”

Chang shared a similar feeling where she said the circumstances made her feel as if the government lacks an understanding of their own consequences.

“They tried accomplishing something, gave up, and we are here suffering everything.” Chang said. “People aren’t getting paid, people can’t see their families over the holidays, and now we were here all stressed out for nothing. What was that?”