Tourists find BWI less busy on Christmas Eve – CBS Baltimore

BALTIMORE (WJZ) – Flying to see family for the holidays this year? You may experience delays and cancellations.

Delta and United are among the airlines that have canceled hundreds of flights over Christmas Eve, citing staff shortages in part due to COVID-19 infections.

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But you wouldn’t know that based on how flights run Friday from BWI Thurgood Marshall Airport.

Of the four Delta flights that departed from Baltimore on Christmas Eve, only one was delayed. The rest is on time.

Meanwhile, both United Airlines flights departed from BWI as scheduled.

There is minimal disruption to service by other airlines at BWI.

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So instead of having to wait in long lines at ticketing points and security checks, passengers said an airport was less crowded on Friday.

“I’ve been here many times,” says Yolando Henley-Perry of Maryland. “It’s almost sweat-free – no problem.”

The Transportation Security Administration checked 2,187,792 passengers at checkpoints across the country on Thursday, usually the busiest travel day before Christmas.

In perspective, that’s 364,402 people less than what the TSA saw before the pandemic broke out in 2019.

The agency doesn’t expect an update on Friday’s activity until Saturday morning.

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As a reminder, TSA recommends arriving at the airport two hours before departure time, wearing a mask, and checking the status of your flight ahead of time.