Philadelphia International Airport expecting busiest travel holiday since the start of the pandemic
PHL is expecting more than 415,000 passengers to come through the airport over the course of this travel holiday.
PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- The Fourth of July weekend is expected to be the busiest travel holiday at the Philadelphia International Airport since the start of the coronavirus pandemic.
Airport officials are expecting Friday, July 1 to be the busiest day at PHL.
Officials are encouraging travelers to be prepared since airlines across the country have been recently impacted by hundreds of delays and cancellations.
"Just a lot of homework. You can't just show up at the airport anymore. Things have changed because of COVID. Just going to our website, we have a summer guidelines page that you go to and it's right at the top of PHL.org," said airport spokesperson Heather Redfern.
Passengers are encouraged to turn on notifications in their airline apps to help track possible changes.
"Weather can be an issue as to why a flight's canceled. Even if it's really clear here, there could be rain and pop-up thunderstorms during hot and humid weather and could impact flights here. You could have crews that don't get here in time," Redfern said.
Redfern said they're expecting a lot of families to be flying for the first time during the pandemic.
"We have a lot of rusty or first-time flyers and we suggest going to the TSA website to see what you can bring with you in your carry-on," Redfern said.
PHL is expecting more than 415,000 passengers to come through the airport over the course of the travel holiday.
Numbers at the airport are 9% higher than last year, but still 16% lower than in 2019.
Most people will travel from Thursday to Saturday, with Friday expected to be the busiest day at the airport.
Parking is still extremely limited in the airport's garages and in the economy lot, which is partially reopened.
