Tucson International Airport expects majority of Thanksgiving travelers on Sunday

TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — Passengers at the Tucson International Airport were flying back into Tucson and also leaving from Tucson back to their destinations on Sunday.

The Tucson Airport Authority reports they expected Sunday to be the busiest day for Thanksgiving travel. They expected 76 thousand passengers to fly, which they said was a 15 percent increase from last year.

Thomas Damrell is a University of Arizona student who was flying back from San Francisco.

He said his flight was delayed 45 minutes and he had to wait 45 minutes just to go through T.S.A. security.

He said while the rest of his experience at the Tucson International Airport was a good experience, he was left a little frustrated.

“You kind of wake up early, you get to the airport early, just to make it on time and then, oh I have another 45 minutes that I could’ve spent in bed,” Damrell said.

Doug Wade was flying into Tucson from Oklahoma where he lives. He works in Tucson and is a frequent flyer.

He said the holiday weekend seemed to bring more people to the airport.

“The holiday weekend was a little busier this time. I fly out here about once a month, so it being the last day of the holiday, it was a little more crowded,” Wade said.

Iris Maurer was also flying into Tucson. She flew from her hometown in Portland, Oregon. She said she had a fairly positive experience and didn’t have any problems flying.

“It honestly was a lot better than I expected today. Like I was stressed, got there a few hours early and it ended up being pretty smooth,” Maurer said.

However, getting luggage could take quite a while.

KGUN9 reporter Andrew Christiansen timed how long it took for passengers to get their luggage. It took almost 15 minutes.

Flyers like Damrell said it’s important to plan ahead and budget your time.

“Pack everything the night before. You don’t want to…no one likes rushing when you should already be in the car,” he said.

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