SAN ANTONIO — Travelers are taking to the skies days before the Thanksgiving holiday. With more people expecting to take off from the San Antonio International Airport this year, officials are warning folks to be ready for the possibility of long lines.
While it’s hard to predict exact numbers in advance, airport officials say there are nearly 140,000 departing seats this week. This is only 4% below November 2019, pre-pandemic levels.
Travelers we spoke to on Monday were spilt on how busy the airport was in the early afternoon.
“Today seems like the best day to go to avoid all of the crowds,” said Manuel Rosales.
Rosales is right. Airport officials say the busiest travel days are the weekends before and after the holiday, with the slowest day being on Thanksgiving.
Rosales is traveling to Wyoming with his family. They plan to spend the week there and purposely left on Monday in hopes of avoiding any sort of “holiday chaos”.
“It’s not packed as I thought it would be,” he said.
Others didn’t feel the same as they waited in line for their boarding passes.
“I don’t really like waiting around. It’s busy,” said one traveler.
Busy or not, it’s good practice to be prepared when you arrived. Officials advise arriving at least two hours in advance, having your tickets ready and bringing a face mask. Another helpful tip is to use their Park Assist for up-to-the-minute parking garage availability.
And while officials say they don’t expect flight cancellations, it’s best to check your airline and make sure it’s on schedule.