More than 1 million passengers are expected to use Denver International Airport for the week ending Christmas Day, and officials are reminding travelers to allow extra time, know restrictions on carrying liquids and avoid traveling with wrapped presents.
About 158,000 travelers are expected to fly through DIA today and nearly 163,000 passengers will use the airport on both Thursday and Friday, according to DIA.
Travelers should arrive at the terminal at least two hours before their flight, but on Tuesday, Pat Ahlstrom, who heads federal security at DIA, noted that “snow is coming up and people need to allow for it” as well.
The Transportation Security Administration hopes to keep security-screening wait times at DIA checkpoints to no more than 15 minutes, Ahlstrom said. “We’re well-prepared; our staffing is good.”
Travelers can speed the screening process by bringing liquids or gels in carry-ons in 3-ounce or smaller containers. All must fit in one quart-size, clear plastic zip-top bag, and each passenger can carry only one bag, Ahlstrom said.
Officials reminded air travelers not to wrap presents whether they will be in checked or carry-on luggage, since screeners may have to search the packages.
Some travelers at DIA on Tuesday needed no reminders.
“I travel every week, so I know all the tips and tricks,” said Christina Jung of Denver, who markets medical devices when she travels on business.
This trip was to visit family in Detroit and she was careful to put only unwrapped gifts in her suitcases.
Tom and Marian Mihane, of Scottsbluff, Neb., were waiting to get on a Lufthansa flight to Germany for the holidays and they, too, were unfazed by the restrictions.
“I’ve been reading what to do and not to do,” Marian Mihane said.
U.S. citizens, and those of Canada, Mexico and Bermuda, got a break when the U.S. State Department extended until Jan. 23 the start of a new requirement that they must have a passport or equivalent document to enter or re-enter the United States from within the Western Hemisphere. An earlier timetable called for the passport mandate to begin Jan. 1.
AAA said about 65 million Americans are expected to travel 50 miles or more between Saturday and Jan. 2 and relatively moderate gas prices are expected to lead many to use highways.
The average price of regular unleaded gas in Colorado is about $2.20 a gallon, while the national average is $2.31, said Eric Escudero, spokesman for AAA Colorado. The price in metro Denver is averaging about $2.14, he added, the lowest in the state and among the lowest for major metro areas in the nation.
Staff writer Jeffrey Leib can be reached at 303-954-1645 or jleib@denverpost.com.
