SCRANTON, Pa. — A wall of brochures at Travelworld in Scranton is not nearly as full as it was a few months ago. That's a welcome sight for the agents here.
"We've been picking up every day, so things are starting to look up in the travel industry," said Travelworld's John Madden.
For Madden, it's a complete 180 from last year's holiday season.
"Yeah, that's something we probably don't even want to remember. I basically was here by myself, and hopefully, the phone would ring maybe once or twice a day. And if it did ring, it was pretty much a cancellation."
This year, people are itching to hop on a plane for a holiday trip. But hearing about pilot strikes and staffing shortages can threaten to burst that beach vacation bubble.
Travel agents are getting calls from anxious customers.
"The big concern is, how long do I have to check in? Do I have to be at the airports earlier? And, of course, you do. Let's be honest, right now with the TSA, a little bit more limited people working, we recommend two to three hours," Madden said.
But Madden says, for the most part, people are willing to put up with a longer line at airport security if it means they can get out of town.
"Right now, people want to get away. They've had it, including myself, so I wish I was going somewhere, but yeah, everybody is just, 'Get me outta here.' They're happy with Atlantic City at this point."