ST. LOUIS – This week will be one of the busiest of the year for St. Louis Lambert International Airport. From holiday travelers to service members traveling home, everything is mixed with some chances for snow on Thursday.
“We are actually going through something called ‘Green Day,’” said Queara Nelson. “Where all the military vets and staff are flying in.”
Nelson, who works at Hudson News inside the airport, will be experiencing her first ‘Green Day’ and Christmas travel week.
“It’s just great that they get to see their families,” Nelson said. “I spoke to one military vet, and she was gone for eight months. Then after she comes back this time, she won’t see her family for another six years.”
Thousands of service members will be traveling from Fort Leonard Wood and Scott Air Force Base on Monday, traveling through Lambert.
In addition to service members, there are regular vacationers. Josh Dreon, who just traveled back home to St. Louis from Los Angeles, plans to avoid the late holiday travel surge.
“I’m going to stay here for a couple weeks and hopefully avoid the whole mess and travel again in January,” Dreon said.
Later in the week, snow is forecasted, which could cause some delays and cancellations. It could also bring an unofficial white Christmas to the St. Louis area.
“Hopefully, it will stick around through Christmas,” said Jake Ramirez. “We’ll get to wake up to it still being on the ground, it will be a lot of fun.”
Some travelers are not so keen on the potential for snow. Gwen DiMartino is visiting St. Louis from Alaska, where she just left five feet of snow and was hoping to avoid the cold.
Nelson said she knows this week will be stressful for a lot of travelers and just wants to remind them to try and stay positive.
“We appreciate the love and support when it comes to people being respectful in the airport,” Nelson said. “You know, flying in with good energy and attitudes.”