PEORIA, Ill. – Wednesday is one of the busiest travel days of the year, with people going across the country to celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday with family and friends. And it’s no different at Peoria International Airport.
PIA Manager of Marketing and PR Cheryl Bockhold-Sloan says the airport is expecting to see nearly 3,000 travelers on Wednesday, with more than 3,000 people on Sunday as they head home from the holiday weekend.
Bockhold-Sloan says patience is key for travelers on busy days such as ones this week.
“Everyone is excited, everyone is trying to get where they’re trying to go quickly, and maybe they aren’t as educated as others are when traveling for the holidays, or in and out of an airport,” Bockhold-Sloan said.
Some travelers have reported finding it tougher than usual to find a parking spot at PIA on Wednesday. Bockhold-Sloan says spots are available, and overflow parking is available at Byerly Aviation Center. She says people are not allowed to park in front of the circle drive by the terminals if they’re picking someone up, and should either find a parking spot or a metered parking spot.
Bockhold-Sloan also says people traveling should check the TSA’s website to find what they can and cannot pack to make it easier to get through security.
There are concerns in parts of the country Wednesday that weather could cause delays in flights. But Connor Schepke of Gainesville, Florida says he was not too concerned about that.
“They said there was some weather around the Florida-Georgia line but honestly I slept through. Must not have been that bad,” Schepke said.
Schepke is a Peoria-native who is traveling back to central Illinois for the weekend to see family and friends. He says the only problem on his flight was a 15-minute delay in landing after a UPS plane became disabled and was stuck on the runway.
Jordan Eljallad is traveling alone for the first time on Wednesday, as the Bradley University student from Arizona heads home for the long weekend to visit family. She is taking a connecting flight to Denver before returning home.
Eljallad says the biggest obstacle she faced is finding a way to get to the airport.
“I had asked about like five different people, and they were all like ‘I’m not going to be here for the break.’ So, I at least found somebody that actually lives here in Peoria, she was able to give me a ride. And then I actually came here pretty early to the airport because I heard it gets a little busy around the holidays,” Eljallad said.
Eljallad says she spoke to her dad often about what to do to prepare for the trip, which includes what she needed to pack and her schedule. She also spent a couple days packing and cleaning her dorm room.
Information on if flights are on-time or delayed can be found on PIA’s website.
