Experts Warn About Terrible Thanksgiving Air Travel For Maine

It's almost time to go home for the holidays. Or come home, depending on where you're located.

For people throughout Maine, that could mean hopping a flight to visit friends or family in another destination.

Maine's two most prominent airports, the Portland International Jetport and Bangor International Airport, see increased traffic around both Thanksgiving and Christmas.

But airline experts are already warning that increased traffic won't be the only potential issue for holiday travel this year.

Airport Personnel Continues to Work Unpaid Across The Country

Due to an ongoing government shutdown, key airport personnel are currently working without pay.

That includes air traffic controllers as well as TSA agents. All of whom are presuming they'll receive back pay when the government agrees to a budget and resumes full operation.

In the meantime, not every airport is seeing their full compliment of personnel show up for work unpaid.

According to The Travel, that's already caused thousands of flight delays and cancellations in October, a month that isn't considered to be "busy" by commercial airline standards.

In 2024, Thanksgiving week was the single busiest week for U.S. airports all year, making the uncertainty this year concerning.

Disruption is Likely For Flights at Maine Airports Around Thanskgiving

Warnings have already gone out from both airline experts as well as politicians that if a budget agreement isn't reached in full before Thanksgiving, massive disruptions across the country are expected over the holiday.

That will be true for both arrivals and departures at both of Maine's busiest airports. Delays and cancellations at major hub airports across the nation could cause a domino effect leaving many travelers tired, frustrated and potentially stranded.

Experts Offer Up Two Suggestions For Thanksgiving Travelers

While airline disruption remains likely, experts have offered up two simple but potentially costly solutions to limit stress.

The first is to grab travel insurance and make sure you read the fine print. Not all travel insurance is structured the same but most will allow for reimbursement in the event of a cancelled flight.

The second is direct flights. As major hubs across the country encounter problems, direct flights offer you a better chance of arriving at your destination with limited interruption.