PASCO, Wash. – The Pasco Airport, like many other airports across the county, will be very busy for Thanksgiving.
However, airport director Buck Taft says that’s not anything they’re not used to.
“We generally average between 12 and 2,000 people a day and we’ll probably hit that 2,000 mark,” said Taft.
According to the American Automobile Association, the TSA is preparing for a record number of passengers in airports across the country for Thanksgiving with a total of 4.7 million Americans traveling, a 6.6 percent increase from last year.
With the increased number of passengers over Thanksgiving, most passengers during the holiday season are not frequent flyers according to Taft.
He advises that passengers get to the airport around 90 minutes before their flight takes off.
“I think that’s imperative anytime you travel, get you here in case there’s issues at the check point, checked bag,” said Taft. “There’s folks that travel a lot that know when to be here. They travel enough to know the flow.”
However, holiday travelers new and experienced are all nervous about delays and cancellations. New flyer Clayton Servi experienced delays in the last flight he took.
“I flew last year during the holidays,” said Servi. “I went down to Nashville and the flight came in late and it stopped us at the other side of the airport and it was a massive airport so I had to run all the way to the other side.”
Taft says the Pasco Airport has cut down the number of flights since the COVID-19 pandemic, however larger planes are now in use.
“We have one of the highest load factors, which is the number of seats filled, in the Pacific Northwest,” said Taft.
Taft says airports are back to pre-pandemic numbers in terms of travelers.
