Travelers At MSP Unfazed By New Flight Restrictions
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- On Wednesday, the Federal Aviation Administration updated U.S. airlines currently canceling flights to Israel due to security concerns. At Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, travelers sensed the tension, caught in the middle of two world conflicts.
University of Minnesota graduate Mike Neidert is a veteran of the airways, averaging two international flights a month for his job as a strategist for Medtronic. Safety is always a concern for him, but he's more aware in recent days following incidents in the Ukraine and Israel.
"I was in Moscow just last month," said Neidert, who was waiting for his luggage at the airport. "I would think twice if I was making that flight again because I would have flown right over Ukraine."
Neidert's travel choices may be affected in the short term, but safety issues can't keep him grounded.
"If you're going to get on a flight, you can't be worried," he said. "If that was the case you'd never walk outside your door."
Neidert said by the time he gets seated on a flight, he believes that everything is going to be fine.
Enrico Mateo of Burnsville takes the same attitude. His father has worked in the airline industry for years and Mateo says he's been flying since he was about 5 years old.
"Nothing personally that I'm too concerned with," he said. "You can have trust in just about anything, but once they let yours down, they let you down."
Passenger traffic at MSP was typical before 6 a.m., with long lines, checkpoints, baggage issues, and people getting their boarding passes ready. Mateo said there's no added tension because of the international incidents, noting that it's usually stressful at the airport early in the morning.