To get to Thanksgiving dinner with family without a hitch, the Palm Springs International Airport is encouraging hours-early arrivals in light of a record number of travelers.
According to airport officials, this year's passenger numbers will exceed last year's by 20%; 2021 also had been a record-breaking year for travel at Palm Springs International Airport (PSP).
"We're planning for a very busy Thanksgiving weekend and tourist season. We had our busiest holiday season ever in 2021, and this year we have more flights and available seats than last year, so we're asking travelers to plan ahead and arrive early so they don't miss their flights... " Executive Director of Aviation Harry Barret said in a news release.
The unprecedented number of travelers will especially impact parking. Since there are not enough spaces for all, taxis and ridesharing services like Uber can be a good precaution.
"The airport will be busier than many locals have ever seen it. We've expanded our overflow lot and added over 100 spaces to accommodate growing demand," Barret said. "However, we also ask travelers to consider taking alternate forms of transportation to the airport because we expect demand for parking to exceed the capacity of our lots."
To catch their flights, travelers are advised to arrive two and a half hours early. Passengers who only have a carry-on and do not need to check a bag can get away with arriving 90 minutes early, PSP said.
Expecting these trends to continue throughout the entirety of the tourist season, PSP has added more flights and larger planes with extra seating. Palm Springs is planning for more than 30,000 people to depart from the airport during Thanksgiving weekend Wednesday through Sunday. The day before Thanksgiving is expected to be the busiest day for travel with over 7,600 people flying out. This is almost 24% more than the day before Thanksgiving last year, PSP said.
PSP has offered some tips to "help ease the stress of travel" and to make peoples' trips more enjoyable. One way to smooth the trip is to follow the airport's Facebook and Twitter for easy access to information regarding parking and more.
It also saves time and aggravation to remember the Transportation Security Administration's requirement that each passenger carries liquids, gels and aerosols in 3.4-ounce or smaller travel-size containers. Additionally, each passenger is limited to one quart-size bag of liquids, gels and aerosols in carry-on bags. Those who might have questions regarding items they are packing can visit TSA.gov for more details.
Besides packing in accordance with federal rules, a real timesaver allows travelers to skip the ticket counter, PSP said. They can do so by checking in via their airline app before leaving for the airport.