Last Minute Holiday Travelers Head Out Of BWI Airport
LINTHICUM, Md. (WJZ) -- BWI Airport was pretty much a ghost town on Thanksgiving Day but there were still travelers there catching last-minute flights.
Travelers like Dwayne Barrett of Texas enjoy last-minute travel. "The planes are never crowded," Barrett said. "TSA doesn't have lines and usually the flights are cheaper."
People at the airport on Thanksgiving Day said things were slow. "There weren't any parking spaces available in the hourly parking, which is crazy, but it's not very busy here," Beth Plummer of Annapolis said. "It seems kind of deserted."
The day before Thanksgiving is one of the busiest travel days of the year.BWI representatives said this year set a new pandemic record for the highest number of departing passengers since July. TSA screened about 31,000 people Wednesday.
Last-minute travelers also hit the roads on Thanksgiving Day. "I'm going to my brother's house in Solomon's Island," Kenneth Young of Joppa said.
Some drive for hours to be there in time for the holiday."Just to go around and have camaraderie with your family, friends and just enjoy Thanksgiving," Joppa said.
Even though traveling last minute can be a pain, people we spoke with said it's worth it because so many people missed spending time with their families last year.
"I have time to land, pick up a few things that they needed and enjoy family time and food," Barrett said. Travel experts expect things to get busy at BWI again on Sunday when people return from their holiday travel.