WINDSOR LOCKS, CT (WGGB/WSHM) - Major disruptions are to be expected starting Friday as airports across the country, including Logan International in Boston, begin reducing air traffic, as instructed by the Federal Aviation Administration. This comes just weeks before the busy holiday travel season.

Bradley won’t be directly impacted — but still, every traveler that spoke with Western Mass News, and the majority I heard from yesterday, told us they’re worried about what traveling will look like in the days ahead, hoping the government will reopen, and return to regular operations soon.

“The work crews, the luggage crews, the people at the desk, it’s a trickle-down effect to the working person,” said Doreen Coakley Rodriguez, a local travel agent.

The FAA announced they’ll be reducing air traffic by 10 percent at 40 major airports across the U.S. beginning Friday in order to keep airspace safe amid the longest government shutdown in our nation’s history. Those locations include Boston, Baltimore, Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles, New York, and Miami. Experts predicted that hundreds, if not thousands of flights will be cancelled across the board.

“I am really glad I’m not traveling next week because I think it’s going to be a jumbled mess. I have another trip to make and I’m putting it off until after this is done,” said Mike Fazio, who was returning from North Dakota.

Air traffic controllers have been working without pay since the shutdown began on October 1st. If the shutdown continues through next week, they’ll be missing out on their second full paycheck since it started.

Western Mass News spoke with local travel agent Doreen Coakley Rodriguez. She told us the shutdown has affected the travel industry in multiple different ways, from airports, to hotels, even car rental services, and it’s only going to get worse.

“Everybody’s getting out of college their coming home for thanksgiving, Christmas, and then he we go for vacation and school breaks and now we’re cutting flights ten percent. And that’s just the start of it. Then what’s going to happen? then you get the weather that delays other flights right and their going to start to co-share flights with carriers,” said Doreen.

If you do plan on hitting the skies in the near future, Coakley Rodriguez suggested that you add travel insurance to trip, and buy your tickets sooner rather than later, “buy your flights, because even if god forbid they switch out your flights you’re still in there on that price, they have to find you something and the best thing they would like you to do is cancel and give you your money back because that’s the easy way out for them.”

Western Mass News did reach out to Bradley for comment regarding the FAA’s recent announcement, they provided us with a statement which reads, “While Bradley International Airport (BDL) has not been notified as one of the airports where the FAA plans to reduce air traffic, our airline partners do operate daily flights between BDL and some of the major airports expected to be impacted. Passengers flying in the coming days should be checking the status of their flight with their airline before coming to the airport.”

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