DENVER — The Denver International Airport is prepared to see an influx of travelers this weekend, despite the ongoing government shutdown.
More than 938,000 travelers are expected between Oct. 9 and Oct. 13. Friday and Sunday are predicted to be some of the busiest days, as many students enjoy fall break along the Front Range.
The busy travel weekend comes amid the ongoing government shutdown, which has caused delays at airports nationwide due to staffing shortages. The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and air traffic controllers have been working without pay for 10 straight days.
Despite the crowds, travelers didn’t see any major delays or lengthy lines at DIA on Friday.
“Things at the airport have been super smooth,” said Bob Dold, who flew in from Chicago.
Dold told Denver7 he didn’t experience any delays on his journey through Chicago O’Hare, either. But others traveling back home to Colorado weren’t so lucky
“Usually we're about a couple hours early, but with everything that's been going on, we ended up showing up at the airport at seven for our 10 o'clock flight,” said Amanda, a Denver resident.
Amanda flew back to Denver from Newark Airport and said there were dozens of planes backed up on the tarmac there this morning.
“Our flight was delayed an hour and a half,” she said. “I think everybody's on the same mindset to just help each other out and keep moving together.”
Other than a brief train outage this morning at DIA, delays on Friday were minimal.
“It worked out to be really simple, was straightforward. I thanked all the TSA people for working through all this stuff,” said George Ross, who flew in from Las Vegas.
If you're traveling this weekend, check TSA wait times and parking on DIA’s website. Parking is quickly filling up, so you’re advised to take the A-Line if you live in the Denver metro.
