Louisville airport expects more than 40,000 departing passengers over July 4 weekend

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WAVE) - Airport travel is already picking up this week, days out from the Fourth of July holiday.

On Wednesday morning, there were already long lines at Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport.

Natalie Chaudoin, SDF’s Director of Public Relations, said things are much busier this week compared to last week, and are on par to hit last year’s travel numbers.

“This morning we did have a pretty long TSA checkpoint for that early morning push to departures,” Chaudoin said. “It’s not uncommon this time of year, and especially won’t be uncommon this week.”

It’s why experts are now recommending travelers arrive at the airport at least two hours before a scheduled departure.

“It’s going to be busy, and people need to be prepared for that,” Chaudoin said. “From June 30th to July 5th, we have about 43,000 departing passengers, which is a very hearty number for us.”

Maggie Leonard spent the last 35 days in basic training at Fort Knox. She got to the airport with plenty of time to spare to make sure she doesn’t miss her flight home to Boston.

“I’ve been pretty nervous, because I keep hearing about how everybody’s flights are being canceled, and I do not want my flight canceled,” Leonard said. “After 35 days, I want to be home.”

Leonard said she also packed a blanket and a change of clothes, just in case she gets stuck.

“Got us here pretty early to make sure none of us missed any of our flights, and if something did go wrong, we could get a new flight rescheduled,” Leonard said. “(We’re just) trying our best.”

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