Holiday travel hassles took an extra day of vacation Sunday as millions of people across Colorado and the country made their way home relatively stress-free following the long Thanksgiving weekend.
On Interstate 70 between Denver and the mountains, traffic was heavy – as many as 40,000 cars were estimated to have passed through Eisenhower Tunnel – but comparable to a normal ski-weekend rush.
At Denver International Airport, officials anticipated the busiest day in the airport’s history, with 170,000 people expected to fly into or out of DIA. But at midday, every parking lot still had spaces available, check-in lines were mostly thin, security queues saw more walking than standing and baggage claims spit out luggage with easy efficiency.
“It’s definitely been steady, and it’s been busy,” said DIA spokesman Steve Snyder. “But it hasn’t gotten out of hand.”
Most travelers nationally saw similarly hassle-free trips. At Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, the world’s busiest, officials expected about 290,000 travelers and experienced no major problems.
At one point at Logan International Airport in Boston, more flights were arriving early than late. And unusually warm weather in Chicago kept flights there running on time.
“We were expecting the worst,” said traveler Ken Edwards, who arrived at Hartsfield-Jackson three hours early to catch his flight. “I’m not sure what’s going on, but everything’s going perfect.”
Travelers did see problems in some parts of the country. Afternoon showers and fog in San Francisco delayed numerous flights. Blizzard conditions in the Cascade Mountains of Washington gummed up travel on Interstate 90.
Other travelers reported scattered problems and delays, but they were in the minority.
Early Sunday, the Bertron family – mom Megan, dad Cameron and kids Simon, 9, and Ruby, 6 – arrived two hours early at Dulles International Airport in Virginia for their flight home to Denver. The family had been visiting relatives in West Virginia.
“There was nothing to do, no waiting,” Megan Bertron said.
They zipped through check-in and security, took off and landed on time and, within about six hours, were standing at a baggage carousel at DIA waiting for their luggage. After a few minutes – and with Ruby diligently leaning over the carousel to watch every bag go by – their bags popped out, one, two, three, and off the foursome went on their way home.
“This is the most pain-free travel day I’ve had in a long time,” Megan Bertron said.
Travelers in Colorado’s mountains did see a few problems during the day.
An accident on eastbound Interstate 70 just west of the Eisenhower Tunnel slowed traffic for a time, and a tractor- trailer rollover that closed Colorado 119 in Clear Creek Canyon also complicated things, said Colorado Department of Transportation spokeswoman Stacey Stegman.
“We’ve seen heavy traffic, but it isn’t horrible,” she said.
A Colorado State Patrol spokesman said no one was injured in the rollover, but he didn’t have any information on the Eisenhower Tunnel accident.
In general, officials credited good weather, both locally and nationally, and the lack of unforeseen problems for the relative ease.
“Typically when things get rough out here is when you throw in an unexpected element,” said Snyder, the DIA spokesman.
He said preparation was also key. DIA, the Transportation Security Administration and many airlines had extra staff on hand Sunday, and Snyder said the groups had also met to plan how to deal with the rush.
Many passengers also planned ahead.
Rob Curtis arrived with his family at DIA about three hours early for their flight home to Fort Worth, Texas, anticipating long lines. But it took the family only about 10 minutes to check their baggage curbside. And with security wait times of about five minutes, they suddenly found themselves with an unexpected problem: What do we do now with all this extra time?
“Find someplace to eat, I guess,” Curtis said. “It beats the heck out of missing your flight.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Staff writer John Ingold can be reached at 720-929-0898 or jingold@denverpost.com.
38 MILLION
- Americans traveling by car on Thanksgiving weekend, up 1 million from 2005
25 MILLION
- Americans flying for Thanksgiving travel, up 3 percent from 2005
170,000
- Airline passengers expected at Denver International Airport on Sunday, DIA’s busiest day ever
0
- Filled parking lots at DIA at noon Sunday
40,000
- Cars expected to pass through the Eisenhower Tunnel on Interstate 70 on Sunday, comparable to a normal ski-weekend rush
90%
- Capacity of flights Sunday and today
