ATLANTA, Georgia — The Sunday after the Thanksgiving holiday, travelers making their way through Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport dealt with long lines and wait times as before making their way to the TSA checkpoint.
Airport officials previously announced their expectations for the holiday travel season, specifically focusing on the high volume of passengers they expected to accommodate during the Thanksgiving holiday weekend.
Many passengers, like Nathalie Gould, heeded warnings to arrive early in order to ensure they made their flight.
"Our friend who lives here was like...you better go like don’t be late because it’s going to be busy today," she said.
Gould had an hour drive to the airport and purposely left three hours ahead of time. Gould said she anticipated long wait times but felt TSA workers were handling things well.
"We saw the line on the other side and they told us that the line was shorter on this side so they brought us over, so it hasn’t been bad so far but you caught us early," she said.
For Djuan and Dawn Vincent, the crowds were a bit of a shock. They told 11Alive the lines were not as long when they flew into Atlanta.
"It wasn't busy at all on Wednesday. It was real smooth. We got in and out, no problems at all," Djuan Vincent said while waiting to reach the TSA checkpoint.
To save travelers time, airport personnel recommend using a rideshare service to get to and from the airport. It's also recommended people that people use mobile apps and check the airport's social media accounts for any important announcements.
All of these precautions are advice in addition to arriving at least two hours before your flight is due to depart.