I’m prepping my family for holiday flight cancellations even though the government shutdown has ended — here’s how

• Leticia Barr received notification that her American Airlines flight home was canceled on November 7.

• He immediately booked a Southwest flight to one of the other airports near his home.

• This experience led her to create a backup travel plan for herself and her children this holiday season.

This article, as told, is based on a conversation with Leticia Barr, a 51-year-old educational consultant living in Silver Spring, Maryland, and founder of Tech Savvy Mama. The following has been edited for length and clarity.

While I was in Indianapolis on November 7th, I received a phone notification from American Airlines. flight home canceled.

It was early afternoon and I was representing a client at a conference. I immediately Googled flights from Indianapolis to any of the airports in Washington, D.C., near where I lived in Maryland, and booked a direct flight home in the Southwest.

My updated flight to Baltimore departed at about the same time as our original flight to Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA). Luckily, we boarded the plane without any problems.

I’m booking a backup flight for my next trip. I’m also making extra vacation travel contingency plans for my two college students.

My office was able to cover the cost of my rebooked flight

American Airlines rebooked I was on a flight the next day, but it would have been extremely inconvenient to stay another night in Indianapolis as the airline did not provide hotel rooms.

My new Southwest one-way ticket to Baltimore was $140 more than my first round-trip ticket to America. Luckily it was a business trip and my office was able to cover the expenses.

I also received a refund for nearly half of my American Airlines flight within seven business days.

There’s a trip coming up that I can’t miss

For the last 10 years I have been fundraising, training and working in St. I’m running the St. Jude Memphis Marathon. I am a St. I am a Jude Hero ambassador and the marathon will take place at the beginning of December.

Although government shutdown is overflights may still be affected.

I told my husband that I needed to buy a spare ticket because I don’t have any flexibility on this trip. I fly on Friday and the race is on Saturday. There are also very few nonstop flights to Memphis and I always prefer to travel nonstop whenever possible.

Living near multiple airports is an advantage

In addition to my nonstop flight from DCA to Memphis International Airport with American Airlines on Friday morning, I booked another flight at 2:00 p.m. Southwest using dots From Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport later in the day.

We are fortunate to have three major airports in DC: Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA), Washington Dulles International Airport (IAD), and Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport (BWI). I live equidistant from all three and am willing to travel to any of them.

I feel really good about my backup plan. I can cancel my other ticket when I arrive in Memphis by American train.

My son and daughter have possible travel plans for the holiday

I have two college students who live in another part of the country. I’m coming home for Thanksgiving. I’m a little worried about their travel due to the short amount of time they have to be home.

As a contingency plan, my son is in Denver and if his flight is canceled he can drive. This would only take a few days. My daughter, who is a senior in college in California, can travel to our family in Northern California if necessary.

It’s never easy to do this traveling on holidaysbut everything is a little more stressful due to unexpected flight delays. It is very important to be patient, flexible and kind. Also, be courteous to TSA employees; They are doing their best. They’ve been working for free for too long to help the rest of us run their businesses.

Do you have a vacation or business travel story you’d like to share? Then email this editor, Manseen Logan, at mlogan@businessinsider.com.

Read the original article Business Content