SAN DIEGO (KGTV) - As soon as the ticket counters opened, people started showing up travel-ready to head to their Thanksgiving destinations.
Officials from the San Diego International Airport say this year's Thanksgiving holiday is expected to be the second busiest travel volume on record, only less than 5% lower than the record in 2019, prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Kimberly Singleton and her son VJ are flying into Dallas and driving to Oklahoma, excited to be reunited with family members after skipping last year because of COVID.
"It sucked, but I'm kind of used to it because I'm in the military," Singleton said. "But I'm just excited to be able to come and be with them. Everyone's vaccinated so we feel safe gathering around."
She said leading up to Tuesday; she was worried about long lines at the airport. But, that wasn't the case Tuesday morning in San Diego.
"I was actually shocked there wasn't as much traffic going to the airport," Singleton said. It doesn't seem as busy. I guess we got here pretty early, so we didn't have to worry about it."
This year, experts predict more than 53 million people will be traveling, the majority of those will be flying.
Passengers told ABC 10 News their travel experience hasn't been as stressful as they thought it would be despite more travelers heading to the airport.
"I don't know maybe people are expecting it to be really busy," Perla Garbay said. "So, I feel like everyone's been pretty patient and taking their time. No one is really in a hurry."
