More Than 4 Million Travelers Expected To Pass Through Chicago Airports This Holiday Season
(CBS) -- This winter storm is brewing just in time for one of the busiest travel days of the year.
Airlines estimate 4.2 million people are passing through both O'Hare and Midway during the 18 days surrounding the holiday season.
Olney Anthony was among the 3.1 million travelers at O'Hare.
Anthony says the lines have, "…been fairly short. I came out of Orlando, Florida, went through Charlotte, now I'm here in Chicago. The lines have been, fairly, fairly light."
The TSA says their goal is to screen passengers in 20 minutes or less nationwide. On November 30, travelers at Midway faced long lines due to a delayed opening at a checkpoint.
"We were thinking it's going to be crowded, but it is okay. So we did great so far. Very excited for our holidays," said passenger Shalini Ragupathy.
Unwrapped presents, will help you get through security faster.
"If you bring a package to take home, don't wrap it. It might get unwrapped at the security checkpoint, but we have free gift wrapping, just past security in both airports," said Karen Pride, a spokeswoman with the Chicago Department of Aviation.
There's another thing the airport is doing to brighten the holiday season for travelers.
"We have live entertainment at both airports between 1 and 4 p.m. that's past security, so we've got carolers and choirs, all kinds of live entertainment, musical entertainment," Pride said.
With the weather expected to take a turn for the worse on Christmas Eve, travelers need to be prepared.
"I think the airlines are taking a very close look at it as well as we are at the airports. They will make their determinations as to whether they're going to cancel flights proactively if the weather gets really bad in certain parts of the country, or not," Pride said.
American Airlines canceled 70 flights for Christmas Eve. They are offering a waiver to allow travelers at O'Hare and Midway to change their flights for free.
The TSA recommends getting to the airport 90 minutes early.