As House shutdown vote looms, travelers recount nightmare travel into RI

WARWICK, R.I. (WLNE) — The month-plus government shutdown could be in its homestretch, but travelers at Warwick’s TF Green International Airport are not yet fully at ease.

TSA checkpoint wait times have been short Wednesday at Green, as the airport has not been as hard hit by the shutdown and the flight cuts that were ordered in its wake.

But some travelers are still on edge about their destination airports and any shutdown-induced issues that might be waiting for them.

Karen, who lives in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, is heading home today on what has been a stress-free return trip so far.

But she can’t say the same about her flight into Rhode Island.

“We didn’t get in and get to our destination til 2:30 in the morning,” said Karen.

“Originally we were supposed to fly in an afternoon flight and that got delayed and delayed and delayed.”

With the U.S. House returning to Washington for the first time in nearly two months to vote on a bill to reopen the government, travelers’ will be at the whim of the results of that vote.