"Airports Start To See Holiday Crush"

Thursday, December 23, 2004

Airports Start To See Holiday Crush
Weather Causes Some Delays
The Associated Press


It's a messy mix for holiday travelers.

Record airline traffic in some cities and a huge snow storm spanning from
Texas to Ohio are causing major delays across the country.

At Washington's Reagan National Airport, officials are urging people to
arrive at least 2.5 hours before domestic flights. One woman going to
Florida missed her flight while waiting in line and is now thinking of
driving 11 hours to get home for Christmas.

One official with Triple-A said air travel could be up as much as 20 percent
in some areas. He added the improved economy allowed more folks to fly for
the holidays.

On the roads, some folks who were trying to go through Ohio or Indiana were
stranded by heavy snowfall. One woman said she was trying to get to Kentucky
for Christmas, but instead she, her two small children and their puppy,
spent 15 hours on the side of the road.

This holiday season could be the busiest ever for Atlanta's airport. Lanii
Thomas, spokeswoman for Hartsfield-Jackson-Atlanta International Airport,
said this Christmas week could set an airport record with nearly 2 million
travelers.

Thursday alone, nearly 290,000 travelers are expected. That's more than
60,000 above the daily average. Thomas said travelers don't appear to be
showing holiday stress, though she advises passengers to pack a little extra
patience for happy holiday travel.

An airport worker said the security lines backed up for a while earlier in
the morning, but it was smooth sailing later.


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