ST. LOUIS – It’s a busy holiday weekend for travelers heading to their destinations to celebrate the 4th of July, and St. Louis Lambert International Airport is getting ready and making sure travelers have a smooth travel experience.
A TSA spokesperson said the biggest volume of people came through Friday morning, but they expect it to stay busy throughout the day and the holiday weekend.
Airport officials said Friday is the busiest travel day this holiday weekend.
“We’re coming out to see the grandparents, and to see Cardinals game, and to celebrate the 4th of July,” said Patrick O’Neil.
He said it’s been an easygoing experience for him and his family.
“I have to say everything was pretty smooth. I know that’s probably not the popular thing out there because a lot of people are having problems, but we had a pretty good trip,” O’Neil said. “Minus some screaming on the plane from my little ones. What can you do?”
Lamont Flemon was told it would be crazy at the airport, but when he got there, he was surprised.
“It’s actually been pretty smooth, pretty smooth. I forgot my ID at home, so I had to have somebody go get my ID,” he said. “But other than that, it’s been pretty smooth.”
“I mean, we had an hour we were sitting on the plane at one point because they had some mechanical issues, but we were able to get going after a while,” said Jake Vitense.
“As we get into the summer, we have a lot more new travelers, or inexperienced travelers, a lot of families traveling together,” said Mark Howell, TSA Regional spokesperson. “So some people don’t know the rules—what’s allowed and what’s not allowed.”
Howell said one good resource is on the TSA website, which allows you to search for different items and then tells you whether you can bring them in your carry-on or checked bag or if they’re not allowed on board.
TSA employees will be all hands on deck during peak hours, like mornings from 4 a.m. to 9 a.m.
Howell said they do have the staff to handle the busy travel weekend.