'We are prepared': Pittsburgh airport braces for spike in Thanksgiving travel

Around 300,000 travelers are expected to fly in and out of Pittsburgh International Airport in the next six days, as the anticipated surge of Thanksgiving travel unofficially kicks off the holiday season, airport officials said Monday.

This first spurt of holiday air travel is expected to jump more than 10% over the same period last year, Bob Kerlik, an airport spokesman, told reporters.

Officials expect Sunday to be the busiest day of air travel this week, with an estimated 43,000 passengers scheduled to arrive and depart from the Findlay airport.

The new $1.7 billion terminal, which opened just last week, is bulking up with additional staff to help with everything from ticketing to parking, officials said.

“This is one of the busiest times of the year for travel,” Kerlik told reporters gathered Monday morning near an American Airlines counter. “And, yes, we are prepared.”

A big part of that preparation is the airport’s new terminal, Kerlik said. The facility has eliminated eight miles of internal belts it used previously, ensuring faster trips for luggage from planes to baggage claim.

There also are more security lanes, officials said. The new terminal boasts 12 of them, up from seven.

Some 82 million people are planning to travel 50 miles or more during the extended Thanksgiving weekend, said Jim Garrity, a spokesman for the AAA’s East Central branch, which covers Western Pennsylvania.

“Imagine the last couple of years at Thanksgiving — and add extra people,” Garrity told reporters inside the new terminal. “We’re expecting millions of people through this region alone and hundreds of thousands at this airport.”

AAA is warning travelers to prepare for traffic. Airport officials recommended travelers arrive at least two hours before their flight is scheduled.

Transportation Security Administration staffers also are set to handle a surge of travelers.

The TSA anticipates it will screen nearly 18 million travelers nationwide between Tuesday and Dec. 2, spokesman Ian Cava said.

More than 3 million are expected to pass through TSA security checkpoints at U.S. airports on Sunday alone — about 18,000 at Pittsburgh International Airport.