Government shutdown not affecting travel at Redmond airport

REDMOND, Ore. (KTVZ) -- The partial federal government shutdown is not slowing things down for travelers at Redmond Municipal Airport, where flights and security screening are operating normally.

While some larger airports around the country are reporting longer security lines and delays as Transportation Security Administration staffing is strained, Redmond officials say they are not seeing those issues locally. The airport’s arrivals and departures board Wednesday night showed all departures on time, with only a couple of delayed arrivals and no widespread cancellations.

Redmond Airport Director Zackary Bass said the shutdown has had no impact so far on how quickly passengers move through TSA screening or on airport operations.

“There’s been no effect on our operations or the time it takes to pass through TSA at this point,” Bass said. “So far, and what we’ve seen in the past with government shutdowns, is we have a great TSA crew here that continues to come to work, and we haven’t seen any impacts so far during this partial shutdown.”

Bass said the airport remains in close contact with federal partners and is continuing to monitor the situation.

For now, he said people flying in and out of Redmond should plan for business as usual, even as the shutdown continues in Washington, D.C.