Travelers report surprising ease at Portland Jetport despite holiday travel rush

PORTLAND (WGME) – With Thanksgiving behind us, people are taking to the road and the skies on Sunday to head back home and back to reality.

The Sunday after Thanksgiving is one of the busiest travel days of the year. Thousands are traveling back from where they came from.

And airports are as busy as ever.

Officials from the Portland International Jetport say they are predicting 17 percent more travelers this Thanksgiving, compared to last year.

“This holiday, I think flying out of Maine was a little difficult. Lots of people were around, very busy, lots of college students,” said Bates College student Olivia Thomas.

But multiple travelers say it’s been slower than they expected.

“I had no problems going there. There were no delays. Wasn’t that bad,” said Maine college student Nicholas Yohn.

Thomas flew from New York to Maine, and she says she expected the airport to be swarming with holiday travelers on Sunday.

“It’s always busy and crowded but today was surprisingly empty,” said Thomas.

Thomas says at the airport in New York, she only had to wait 15 minutes in security- something that can typically take hours.

“I feel like New York wasn’t awake today. New York was asleep and I feel like coming into Portland Jetport was much easier. It’s so small, so quiet, so it’s really easy,” said Thomas.

The Portland Jetport is seeing an increase in travel, with over 7,000 passengers flying in and out on Sunday.

But Assistant Airport Director Zach Sundquist says this isn’t their busiest time of year.

“That’s a big step up, where right now we’re at five and a half, to six thousand passengers. It’s nothing compared to a normal August day, where we are doing twelve to thirteen thousand passengers,” said Sundquist.

But the holidays aren’t over yet, and another travel rush is expected in just a few weeks when thousands more will be traveling for winter holidays.

“Definitely going to be worse having to travel for Christmas, that I know for sure, but wasn’t too too bad,” said Yohn.

Still, if you’re flying out of the Portland Jetport, Sundquist says arriving 90 minutes before your flight should be plenty of time.