Travel
What to expect for Thanksgiving travel at Columbus airport this year
John Glenn International Airport to build new terminal for Columbus
Joe Nardone, president and CEO of the Columbus Regional Airport Authority, discusses the replacement of John Glenn International Airport terminal.
The most wonderful time of the year for airline bottom lines is almost here.
The busiest air travel days of the year, the Tuesday and Wednesday before Thanksgiving and the Sunday after, are coming up this week. A record-setting 80 million Americans expect to travel on Thanksgiving this year, according to AAA.Travelers eager to see their families will swarm the nation’s airports in untold legions, including here in Columbus.
Here’s how many fellow travelers you can expect to see at John Glenn Columbus International Airport this week.
Thousands of travelers flew through Columbus in 2023
Roughly, 17,500 passengers departed from John Glenn Columbus International Airport on the Tuesday before Thanksgiving in 2023, according to airline seat data from the Columbus Regional Airport Authority.
About 16,700 passengers departed on Wednesday, and 17,300 left on Sunday last year. In total, around 210,000 passengers flew from the Columbus airport from Nov. 16 to Nov. 29, 2023.
These figures don’t include passengers who arrived at the Columbus airport, so the terminals will likely be even fuller than these numbers suggest.
There might be even more passengers traveling through Columbus for Thanksgiving this year; the U.S. had its busiest Labor Day Weekend for air travel just over two months ago, according to Reuters.
John Glenn Columbus Thanksgiving travel recommendations
The Columbus Regional Airport Authority shared these travel tips with holiday flyers last year:
- Make a parking plan and figure out where you’re parking before you get to the airport.
- Get to the airport at least 90 minutes before your domestic flight, and at least two hours before for international flights.
- Visit TSA.gov to see what you can bring through security.
- Use your airline’s mobile app to check in for your flight, download a mobile boarding pass, and get status updates.
- Wait to pick up passengers at the cell phone lot so the airport’s curbside pickup can keep moving.
- Visit FlyColumbus.com for parking information, shop and restaurant options, and everything else you need to know to prepare for your trip.