CHARLOTTE — The holiday travel season is officially underway, and while officials are expecting slightly fewer travelers this week, it’ll still be busy between now and the start of the new year.
Channel 9’s Miana Massey was at Charlotte Douglas International Airport Tuesday morning where airport officials said holiday travel is already picking up.
They say they expect heavy crowds through the week with nearly 2 million people traveling to and from Charlotte Douglas. Those numbers are 10% lower than the record set last year.
Charlotte is a major hub for American Airlines. American says it will operate 8,000 flights from Charlotte during the Thanksgiving period — the largest of any airline.
“From our flight crews, to customer service agents, to technical operations, it’s all hands on deck,” American Airlines Senior Vice President Ralph Lopez Massas said. “We prepare for holiday periods like this for an entire year.”
Officials say the busiest travel days will come after Thanksgiving — Saturday, Sunday and Monday. To combat crowds, the airport will have extra staff to guide passengers.
To best prepare, airport officials recommend arriving at least two hours early for domestic flights and three hours early for international. They also recommend checking parking availability and using the airport app for real-time security wait times.
Airport officials say they’re all staffed up, coordinating with TSA and the FAA, and ready to move passengers as smoothly as possible this holiday season.
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