Thanksgiving holiday travelers experienced minimal crowding and transit delays at Boston Logan International Airport, despite travel website Orbitz ranking Logan one of the busiest airports during Thanksgiving weekend.
Based off of flight bookings from Nov. 23 to Nov. 27, Orbitz ranked Logan the fifth busiest airport in the U.S., according to a study released in early November. However, the hassle that travelers actually experienced was minimal, travelers and Logan employees said.
Phil Orlandella, manager of media relations at Logan Airport, said that the amount of people who fly to or from Logan airport in the days preceding Thanksgiving is actually about the same as it is on an average travel day.
“The day before Thanksgiving is not the busiest day, as everyone reports.” he said. “It’s actually very moderate.”
Logan officials were more than prepared for the Thanksgiving rush, passengers said. Coming from the airport stop on the T, several employees were waiting to direct any wayward passenger on the shuttle bus to his or her proper terminal.
Many travelers said they were pleased with their experiences at Logan, as they were expecting something much worse during the holiday season.
Milton Academy student Stewart Pollock, who was flying home to Texas for the holiday, said that overall, he was happy with traveling through Logan.
“It’s been fine,” Pollock said. “The lines were a little long, but that’s to be expected. It was pretty routine.”
Andover resident Julie Quinn, who was traveling with her son to relatives in Ohio, said that she flies out of Logan all the time, and that she found her experience to be similar to what it normally is.
“We fly to and from here all the time,” Quinn said, “and today it was fairly simple. The lines weren’t too long. It was fine.”
Jamaica Plain residents Sara Kilroy and Chris Patterson said they had gotten to Logan early out of fear of a long check-in and a possible delay due to weather, but their experience had been pleasant.
“We got here very early,” Kilroy said, “but so far, so good.”
Patterson said that they did not have to wait in line too long for check-in procedures.
“It only took about a minute to get our boarding passes and everything,” Patterson said. “We though it would be a lot worse.”
Orlandella said that many travelers should probably expect heavy travel days the Tuesday and Wednesday before Thanksgiving, but that it is actually the days after the holiday that are the busiest for Logan.
“It’s actually the Saturday and Sunday after Thanksgiving that are actually the busiest days, with everyone either going home or coming home,” he said. “But even that is moderate.”
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