CENTRAL WASHINGTON- A projected 7.5 million people are traveling by plane between the Christmas and New Years holidays, according to Triple-A.
From December 21 to January 8, United Airlines, Delta and American Airlines are expecting over 9 million passengers each.
Closer to home, the Tri-Cities Airport is expecting a slower season than the Thanksgiving holiday, when parking lots were full, averaging over 400 passengers per day.
“The passengers come a lot quicker, a lot faster,” says Tri-Cities Airport Director Buck Taft. “It’s a shorter more condensed holiday where Christmas is more spread out of the week before, the week of and the week after Christmas.”
Taft says parking will be a concern again for Christmas and you should be at the airport at least 90 minutes before boarding time.
And if you’re bringing any gifts to family through the plane, keep them unwrapped or put them in a checked bag, says Taft. If they’re not in a checked bag, you’ll have to make a stop for some extra gift wrap and rewrap them when you land.
If you’re flying out of Yakima, YKM Director Robert Hodgeman says planning ahead is crucial, but not just at his airport.
As the Yakima Air Terminal only goes to and from Seattle, a lot of passengers will have connecting flights to make, but make sure you have enough time to make it from one gate to another.
“Give yourself a little more time,” says Hodgeman. “Sometimes the gate that you think you were gonna board your next flight, all of a sudden, they’ve changed that gate and it’s on the other side of the airport. In this increased travel time, it’s likely to encounter something like that.”
Hodgeman emphasizes the importance of checking in as early as possible, because there’s a chance you can’t check in at all.
Check ins close 40 minutes before boarding time. He says that’s because at YKM and most small airports, the same agents at the gates also are the ones to help you board the plane.
“Part of the reason for that is that the ticket agents are also the gate agents,” says Hodgeman. “This is not just here in Yakima. This is Alaska Airlines across the company, this is standard policy.”
At this time of year, weather delays are always possible. YKM says a maintenance crew is always patrolling the airport to ensure every passenger is safe before their flight.
