Philadelphia International Airport expecting 18% more travelers this summer
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) — Summer travel at Philadelphia International Airport is underway. On Wednesday late morning, TSA lines were short and moving quickly.
"Very easy check-in. No problem," Adam Williams said. He's traveling from London and through PHL for vacation.
Anne Higgins, who's traveling with him added, "Everything is quite kind of calm, isn't it?"
Flying post-Memorial Day weekend is going smoothly on Wednesday — for most.
"Delayed, delayed, delayed," April Petrey said about her flight home to Lexington. She continued, "I just want to go home."
PHL is looking at an 18% bump in passenger volume this summer compared to last year which is also on par with 2019 numbers.
PHL spokesperson, Heather Redfern, said the season kicked off Memorial Day weekend.
"We've been busy, nonstop since then," Redfern said.
"I can definitely expect that and see it," Patrick White said. He's flying back to Palm Beach on Wednesday.
August, the airport notes, is "probably" its busiest month. For travelers this summer, Redfern said Wednesday and Thursday mornings are "very busy" for people flying out of PHL.
"It's great to see people back here again. No empty, eerie terminals," Redfern said.
Between hiring and training, Redfern said PHL is ready for what's to come in the next few months.
"We're here to help you and we want you to have a great experience when you're here," Leah Douglas, Director of Guest Services at PHL said.
Through the terminals Wednesday, a pep rally complete with two drumlines and Philly Elmo took over. They were all on hand to help announce a new "employee service excellence program" called PHL Works. The program is open to all of the nearly 17,000 people who work at the airport.
"They work here 24/7, 365 days a year so they're a very devoted team and we just want to give them the encouragement and support they need," Douglas said.
Still, Redfern noted they're not back to pre-pandemic numbers just yet.
"We're not going to be completely back to our pre-pandemic numbers. We probably have another year for that," Redfern said.
