OHIO — The early morning hours at the John Glenn Columbus International Airport were surprisingly quiet Wednesday, but as the afternoon flights approached, the foot traffic picked up. Still, the whole day was not as chaotic as many travelers anticipated.
Dawn Tyler Lee and her family were traveling to New Jersey.
“This is my first time traveling the day before Thanksgiving,” Lee said. “I expected long lines and chaos, but so far, so good.”
Carly Seiferas was traveling with her husband and two young kids to New Jersey as well.
“We checked one bag, and we were expecting a huge line as there was in August when we came and it was empty,” Seiferas said. “[I feel] a little less stressed, especially with two kids. So it’s going to make things a little bit easier as we get through security.”
More than 3.3 million Ohioans are expected to travel for Thanksgiving this year, which is 2.1% more than last year, according to the American Automobile Association. Overall, this Thanksgiving week is expected to be one of the busiest in years for airports across the state.
Airport officials told Spectrum News the two busiest travel days of the holiday season are the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, exceeded by the Sunday after Thanksgiving.
During the travel period from November 22nd through December 1st, John Glenn Columbus International Airport officials expect more than 200,000 people to fly. At the Cleveland Hopkins International Airport, officials expect more than 300,000 people to fly and at the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport, officials expect more than 210,000 passengers to fly this Thanksgiving week.
Lee mentioned she recently had a death in the family, which makes this Thanksgiving holiday more important than ever to get together as a family and spend quality time.
“Spending time with family, absolutely,” Lee said. “We live here in Ohio obviously and our family is all on the East Coast, so spending time with them is really going to be special.”
As for Seiferas, this is her youngest child’s first Thanksgiving, and she said she’s looking forward to making memories.
“My kids seeing their grandparents and their great grandparents,” Seiferas said. “They only get to see them a couple of times a year, so this is a real treat for them.”
TSA has some travel tips to help things go smoothly for those flying:
- Don’t forget your ID
- Arrive two hours in advance, at least 90 minutes for domestic flights
- Each liquid container must be 3.4 ounces or less in your carry-on bag
- Make sure your luggage is not overweight
- Items like knives, scissors and pepper spray are prohibited as carry-on items
Don Barker, the TSA's federal security director for Ohio, reminded everyone who has a concealed carry license that they are welcome to fly with their firearm, but it must go in your checked luggage with special instructions.
“And unfortunately if you walk into our checkpoint with your carry-on luggage and you have a weapon we have to deal with it and it becomes a significant issue with a potential fine up to $15,000 and that’s if we determine there was no intent behind what you were doing,” Barker said.
For a full list of what you can and cannot bring with you on your flight visit TSA.gov.
Also, if you have anxiety flying or special needs or have young children and need extra help, TSA has something called TSA Cares, where you can book a time slot for an agent to meet you at the checkpoint and help you through the process. You can call TSA Cares (855) 787-2227 to request assistance.
For up-to-the-minute travel information for John Glenn Columbus International Airport visit here.
For Cleveland Hopkins International Airport, visit here, and for Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport visit here.
