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Heavy Holiday Travel Starts in Austin

Traveling in Austin can be exhausting, and the holidays are no exception. It is projected that about 8 million people in Texas will be traveling over the holidays.

 

Many of those will be traveling by car but several will travel by plane, but no matter the way of transportation, patience can be a big help.

 

Clara Taylor is traveling with her family to Missouri and said flying with two kids can be stressful.

 

"If you have somebody that can bring you to the airport and drop you off that’s the best way to go,” Taylor said. “You don't have to hassle with the parking."

 

Mike Harrell is traveling in a group of eleven and together they have 18 bags. He said they gave themselves three and a half hours of prep time before their flight to Lake Tahoe.

 

"It's just like Monday morning with all the commuters,” Harrell said. "It is more hectic than normal because all the travelers are all novices at traveling."

 

Over the holiday Austin-Bergstrom International Airport has projected nearly 30,000 passengers total each day, and airport officials say that is 5,000 more passengers than a typical day.

 

Austin resident Kay Love said she travels often, but is not used to the holiday congestion at the airport. Love said she is traveling with her two dogs for the first time and hoped it would not cause any extra problems.

 

"I’m a little stressed. This is a lot more traffic that I've seen in Austin ever," Love said. "First time flying with the dogs so we will see how that goes."

 

Severe winter weather across the county has crippled travel, and the domino effect even reached Austin. Saturday departure screens were clear of cancellations, but there were still delays in Austin throughout the day.