TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — As Tucsonans head out the door for memorial day weekend, Tucson International (TUS) is seeing an uptick in flyers compared to last year.
"It's definitely gonna be busier this weekend," says Chris Dietz, Vice President of Operations, "In a six day period, we're expecting around 67,000 passengers in that period, which is up 6% Over the same period of 2023."
Tuesday and Thursday's are usually the busier travel days and Dietz says this year we are sticking to the trend.
“Tuesday and Thursday will be the biggest travel days here for us during this memorial day period with about 12,000 passengers each day,” Dietz says.
Traveling across the country is up for the holiday weekend to 43.8 million travelers. A jump from 42 million in 2023.
Arizonans are also expected to set a new record at 933,000 travelers, beating the previous record of 892,000 in 2023, according to AAA.
Dietz says to avoid delays, arrive early.
“It's always important to make sure you're checking the airline's website, checking for flight delays, cancellations, and plan ahead, be prepared, come to the airport early, and make sure that everything's on time for you,” said Dietz.
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Blake Phillips is a reporter for KGUN 9. Originally from St. Louis, Mo., Blake grew up in Sierra Vista. During his college tenure at the Missouri School of Journalism, Blake worked for the NBC affiliate KOMU-TV in Columbia. He is excited to return to a place he calls home and give back to the community in which he grew up. Share your story ideas and important issues with Blake by emailing blake.phillips@kgun9.com.
