Busiest day for Thanksgiving air travel still days ahead

PHOENIX (AZFamily) — It’s time for the holiday travel rush at Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport.

Among the chaos of getting from Point A to Point B, Arizona’s Family found Sara Locke.

She was waiting for her 91-year-old grandmother, Frances, to arrive. It was a special reunion.

Grandma Frances met her 32nd great-grandchild, who was being carried by Locke, for the first time.

“We’re super excited to spend the holiday with her and get her to meet Stevie,” said Locke.

She also has thanks to give for no delays on what TSA is calling a record-breaking Thanksgiving.

According to the agency, more than 18 million people will take to the skies on Thanksgiving week. Wednesday night is expected to have 2.9 million travelers go through security checkpoints.

Every year seems to get busier, but it can slip people’s minds with the holiday hustle and bustle.

“Honestly, I kind of forgot that travel around Thanksgiving is busy. And I was driving to the airport and was, ‘Wow, why is there so much traffic?’” she said.

Other travelers like Shari Wrasper from Dallas knew what was up.

“That’s ordinary,” said Wrasper.

Therefore, she’s not taking any chances on her return flight.

“We’re going back Monday. We figure the rush is Sunday. We’ll give it a day and then we’ll come back Monday,” said Wrasper.

She’s correct. TSA predicts Sunday will be the busiest day of Thanksgiving travel, with more than 3 million people catching a flight.

That’s when great-grandma Frances is heading back home, but Arizona’s Family gave Locke a heads up.

“I’m glad you warned me because honestly I probably would’ve forgotten, or not even thought about it,” said Locke.

For TSA tips to help with smooth traveling, visit their website..

You can also check in on security checkpoint wait times at Terminals 3 and 4 on Sky Harbor’s website.

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