PITTSBURGH — The Thanksgiving travel rush was in full swing at the Pittsburgh International Airport Wednesday, as thousands of people passed through TSA security checkpoints to head to their holiday destinations.
AAA expected 4.7 million people to fly over Thanksgiving, up more than 6% from last year and the highest number of Thanksgiving air travelers since 2005. While the long lines fluctuated at Pittsburgh’s airport throughout the morning, flyers like Hannah Bagazzoli weren’t fazed.
“I kind of expected it because it’s Thanksgiving…we were hoping with an early flight it wouldn’t be super busy, but I think everyone had the same idea, so here we are,” Baggazzoli said. “So far, so good.”
Bagazzoli was one of many Pittsburghers who lined up bright and early, some even making the trip in the middle of the night in case the weather didn’t cooperate.
“We left home at 3 a.m.,” said Gary Reeder of Ohio.
“I was really shocked to see how many people were here at 3:30 in the morning. The last time we went, it was in the afternoon, and it was about the same,” said Janice Reeder of Ohio.
Experts said Tuesday and Wednesday before Thanksgiving are the busiest air travel days ahead of the holiday and the most expensive, but with an unpredictable storm system looming across the East Coast, flyers in Pittsburgh were keeping a close eye on conditions.
“I think everybody was alerted enough ahead of time to do what they needed to do to get here on time,” said Leonore Kumer, who was traveling to Boston to visit family.
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