Betty Daugherty arrived at Denver International Airport nearly two hours early Wednesday so she could find a spot in the main terminal to wait for the arrival of her eldest son, Colin, whom she hasn’t seen in nearly a year.
Colin Daugherty has been serving in Operation Iraqi Freedom in Balad, Iraq.
Daugherty bit her nails and became teary-eyed at the mention of her son’s name. She wore navy pants, navy shoes and a red blazer with a photo button of Colin and she held a “Welcome Home Colin” sign.
Joining Daugherty were Colin’s wife, Rachel, his brother, Chace, and other relatives who wrapped themselves in red, white and blue crepe paper and carried American flags and banners with handwritten sentiments.
When the weary-looking soldier was finally spotted by his family amid the waves of arriving passengers, he was greeted by loud cheers, kisses and hugs. The warm reception generated tears and well wishes from travelers who witnessed it.
“It’s a little much,” Colin said.
The soldier was among 924,000 airline travelers expected to maneuver their way in and out of DIA this week, according to airport officials.
“This is the busiest we’ve ever been,” said DIA spokesman Chuck Cannon.
Last year, 900,000 passengers traveled through the airport during the holiday week, officials said.
Although travel during Thanksgiving week is busy, it’s not as busy as the Sunday after the holiday when travelers typically return home.
Passengers who decide to travel at Thanksgiving expect to experience problems with traffic and long security lines. But this year, traffic didn’t pose a problem and security lines moved quickly.
“It was a piece of cake,” said Eileen Cooley of Denver as she waited to catch a flight home to Newark, N.J.
Efforts to make traveling through DIA less stressful and faster have included the addition of 3,400 parking spaces in the Pikes Peak shuttle lot and a $3-per- hour, short-term lot on Level 4.
DIA officials said travel Wednesday likely was so smooth because airlines and the Transportation Security Administration were fully staffed and because uncommonly mild temperatures did not hamper travel plans.
Passengers were pleased to get through DIA in record time.
“It was way better than I expected it to be,” said Annie Schumbacher, who was traveling to Cleveland.
Staff writer Annette Espinoza can be reached at 303-820-1655 or aespinoza@denverpost.com.
