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PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) — Waves of passengers moved through the Philadelphia International Airport (PHL) Sunday, on what was expected to be the busiest travel day for the airport this holiday season.
“I was scared thinking it was going to be busy, actually not as busy as we thought it was going to be,” said Queen Booker, who was traveling home to Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Booker says she prepared for longer wait times and delays, but was pleasantly surprised by how seamless the process was.
On Sunday morning at PHL, travelers were met with roughly a 25-minute wait.
“I didn’t want to travel today. I thought it was going to be really, really bad. But luckily, not as bad as I thought it was going to be. My plan was to leave tomorrow, not today,” said Booker.
Airlines projected Sunday to be the busiest travel day this week, and this Thanksgiving holiday was expected to be one of the busiest travel seasons since the pandemic.
Travelers start to head home on one of busiest Thanksgiving travel seasons on record
According to AAA, more than 55.4 million Americans were expected to travel 50 miles or more from home.
The Elmquist family, who traveled with their young daughter, arrived at the airport early in anticipation of large crowds.
“We actually thought we were being risky by flying out on this Sunday, we thought it was going to be really bad. But, it’s been pretty good,” said Bethany Elmquist from Charlotte, North Carolina.
Flight Aware said nearly 100 flights were delayed at PHL on Sunday, and there was one cancellation as of about 6 p.m.
Flyers are advised to check their flight status and road routes before heading to the airport.
Millions of Pennsylvanians also hopped in cars and on trains to journey home.
Unfortunately for those who hit the roads, the traffic and rain caused many to hit delays.
Drivers say the weather made the commute even longer on the congested highways.
“Jersey Turnpike was backing up, it was just getting wetter and wetter and longer and longer. It always happens the closer you get to Baltimore,” commented John Sorensen from College Park, Maryland.
“What should have been a four-hour drive between New Jersey and Massachusetts turned into a seven-hour drive both ways. That definitely was not enjoyable,” added Ben Hom from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Despite the long rides home, many told Action News they found ways to entertain themselves.
“The license plate game!” exclaimed Maya Munoz from Pittsburgh. “The alphabet game, whatever we can do. And movies.”
It’s one of the busiest times of the year, not just for airports and on the roads, but for Amtrak trains as well.
Amtrak is also accommodating for a surge of riders on their trains.
AAA data shows Sunday being the busiest day as many returning home following the holiday. They also say Monday is a popular day to travel home.
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