With pandemic restrictions easing across the country, airports expect tourist traffic to surge ahead of the holiday weekend.
At DFW Airport, passenger traffic has again reached more than 80% of the 2019 summer travel level. According to Bill Begley, Senior Manager of External Affairs at the airport, up to 200,000 passengers travel via DFW Airport every day.
On Thursday, Jefferey Smith drove his two sons from Shreveport, Louisiana, to DFW Airport. His teenage sons flew to California and traveled alone for the first time.
“Also, for the first time since COVID, I prefer a non-stop flight for them so they don’t have to worry about connections and all of those things,” said Smith.
Wealthy resident Mandy Goddard and her family flew out of the country on Thursday for a long-awaited vacation that has been put on hold due to the pandemic.
“We’ll spend time in Amsterdam first, then we’ll go to Athens and get on a cruise ship,” said Goddard. “It’s phenomenal. It is so invigorating to be able to get out and travel. “
Dallas Love Field officials expect a busy travel season this coming weekend as well. Chris Perry, external communications manager for Dallas Love Field Airport, said recent trips were on par with pre-pandemic levels.
“We’ll be doing between 90 and 95 percent of our trips in 2019,” Perry said. “It is one of the indicators that travel will return sooner than was originally thought by the COVID-19 pandemic.”
According to the TSA, everyone who is at an airport must wear a mask, as prescribed by the federal mask mandate. This means that all travelers must wear a mask at checkpoints at TSA airports, throughout the airport and during their flights.
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