ST. LOUIS – Friday marks the busiest travel day of the year so far. Many St. Louisans are trying to get out of town for one last summer vacation.
Lines were decent for Southwest and Lufthansa Airlines. Tiph Jones was a traveler returning from Las Vegas.
“Busiest day, on both sides,” Jones said. “Security was good, but lots of lines, lots of waiting for food, and getting in line on the flight. But it was easy once we got in the air.”
According to the Transportation Security Administration, 23,362 passengers are going through security in Terminal 1 and Terminal 2 over the Labor Day weekend between Thursday to Monday.
In all, some 90,207 travelers are coming through Lambert this weekend, well above 2019 pre-pandemic numbers and more than 2023.
“I was just hoping I got here an hour and a half early that would be enough,” Breanna Leake said. “You know they say two, but this is the St. Louis Airport. So usually if you get an hour ahead, you’re good.”
While the lines looked long, they moved fairly quickly. Once through security, it’s smooth sailing into blue skies on this Friday before Labor Day.
“Show up early and be prepared but also be patient,” Jones added. “Make sure you understand the folks here are doing their best to get you through. They want to be done with it too. So just be patient with folks and enjoy yourself. “
