MSP Airport Officials Offer Spring Break Travel Tips
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MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- Last year, a record number of passengers traveled through Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport for spring beak.
Airport officials say they're getting ready for even more travelers this year. They say the heaviest peaks will be on Fridays. And they have some tips.
First, they say book your parking ahead of time.
Next, know which terminal your airline uses. Only five airlines including Southwest and Sun Country go out of Terminal 2. All other airlines use from Terminal 1.
And also, be sure to arrive at the airport at least two hours ahead of domestic departures, three hours ahead for international destinations.
Airport officials also shared the following suggestions:
- Consider all your security checkpoint options. In addition to Terminal 1's two largest checkpoints in the ticketing lobby, people with only carry-on items can also use two others: Checkpoint 10 (which recently expanded to two security lanes) is located between the Red and Blue parking ramps and open Monday through Friday from 5:30 a.m. to 1:15 p.m.; and the checkpoint at the InterContinental Hotel MSP Airport is open to all travelers with only carry-on items, whether or not they are hotel guests, from 4:45 a.m. to 10 a.m. daily. During periods of peak demand at Terminal 2, the TSA sometimes opens Checkpoint 2 in addition to Checkpoint 1. The number of security lanes at Checkpoint 2 is doubling, to four from two, prior to the busy March travel period.
- Dropping off or picking up a friend? Consider using the east upper level roadway at Terminal 1, which is often less busy than the roadway directly in front of the terminal. Get there by driving up the ramp to Terminal 1's departures level and staying left. Travelers are only a brief skyway's walk from the terminal entrance.
- Flying Delta? There are multiple sites to check bags. In addition to the Terminal 1 ticket lobby location, Delta offers bag check services on Level T (two levels below ticketing) as well as both skycap and traditional bag check services on the east upper level roadway. Delta's east-side traditional bag-check desk is located inside doors six and seven, and its skycap service is near door eight.
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