LOCAL NEWS

Holiday travelers make their return home to Utah

Dec 1, 2024, 3:44 PM | Updated: 4:59 pm

SALT LAKE CITY – Tens of thousands of people will pass through the Salt Lake City International Airport on Sunday, on their way home from Thanksgiving celebrations. So far travelers are reporting a pretty smooth experience on one of the busiest travel days of the year.

Flying home from Thanksgiving, apparently, Sunday is the day to do it.

“I was trying to stretch it out as many days as I could, but my son’s got to go back to work tomorrow,” Susan Jense said, who was traveling home from Baltimore.

“We all got to be back to work. We got work and school tomorrow,” Andrea Giovanniello said, who was traveling home from Ohio.

With Thanksgiving over, trips must come to an end.

“Exactly, time to go back to reality,” Giovanniello said.

They’re just some of the 31,000 passengers estimated to fly into the Salt Lake City International Airport Sunday alone. Many of them told KSL TV they had a pleasant travel experience.

“It was great, it was just as smooth as smooth,” Jense said.

And despite the large volume of people moving through the airport, travelers didn’t feel overcrowded.

“It wasn’t nearly as crowded as going to New York City,”  Heather Owen said, who was flying home from New York City.

“It wasn’t too bad out of Texas, the plane was full, but other than that,” Kelly Evans said, who was flying home from Fort Worth, Texas.

Passengers KSL TV spoke with Sunday reported no issues with crowds, cancelations or even getting through airport security.

“It was a long line, but it was only about 10 minutes,”  Nick Genknger said, who was flying home from New Jersey.

“Security in Ohio was actually pretty good,” Giovanniello said.

“The security lines this morning were packed but they got us right through,” Evans said.

The only complaint KSL TV heard was the flight home could’ve been more fun.

“No turbulence,” Ajax Fairbank said, who was flying home from New York City.

For some, it seems turbulence adds a little excitement to the otherwise uneventful experience.

“Yes,” Fairbank said.

He may have been the only one who wanted a bumpier ride. Speaking with travelers and airport staff, it’s been a smooth Thanksgiving weekend in Salt Lake City all around.

KSL 5 TV Live

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Holiday travelers make their return home to Utah