Following the Thanksgiving holiday, approximately 3 million people are expected to fly home on Sunday, according to the TSA.
Community reporter Makayla Richardson spoke with some passengers at the SLO County Airport (SBP) who say they arrived early for their trip home, hoping to avoid issues they experienced when flying into the Central Coast for vacation.
Joselyn Chur is flying home to Flagstaff, Arizona, and recounted some unexpected delays in her travel plans. “There was a whole emergency going on in Phoenix, so we had to fly back to Flagstaff, and it was really, really stressful,” Chur revealed. “It was just a mess just to be able to fly here.”
The airport wasn’t the only busy place. One Amtrak Conductor said tickets for many trains, including the one that arrived in San Luis Obispo on Sunday, were sold out.
Erin Mori was taking the train from Los Angeles to San Luis Obispo. She said for many people on the trip, it was standing-room only. “It feels a little weird,” Mori said. “I’m used to traveling, but it's never been this crowded before.”
Meanwhile, others, like Nathan Wentworth, were still figuring out how to get home. “I showed up today, the bus pulled up and I was trying to get on... the bus driver told me they had overbooked the bus and that I was unable to get on,” Wentworth shared. “I was a little shocked, but now I'm in a bit of a dilemma on how [I should] get home.”
Despite the frustrations, Wentworth noticed people are in a better mood when traveling during the holidays, making the journey a little easier. “As with everyone, I'm very much focused on myself rather than other people,” Wentworth added. “It is pretty cool to see everybody during the holidays get to go see their family.”
Last year, the TSA recorded the Sunday before Christmas and the Friday after Christmas as the busiest travel days in December.
