El Paso International Airport expecting busy 4th of July weekend

EL PASO, Texas -- More El Pasoans are expected to take to the skies this Forth of July weekend. Travel experts predict this weekend will be the busiest for airports since the pandemic hit.

The El Paso International Airport said in July of 2020, more than 100,000 passengers traveled through the airport. Since spring break however, it's seen a steady increase.

"The month of June was very fantastic. We had a lot of our flights that were removed (because of) the pandemic, from the airlines," said airport director Sam Rodriguez. "Destinations, like Los Angeles were brought back. San Diego and Orlando are all operating this month and into next month in August, (it's) just really fantastic."

According to the Transportation Security Administration, agents are screening up to two million passengers everyday, which are pre-pandemic numbers. Triple AAA anticipates more than 47 million Americans will be traveling by plane or by car this holiday weekend.

"It's definitely an opportunity for folks to kind of be mindful of, and just take their extra time to get to the terminal to get to take it in and get through security and be able to get them on their merry traveling way," Rodriguez said.

However, labor shortages are impacting airlines and airports all across the country. Some airlines have been delaying or canceling flights all together unable to keep up with demand. Rodriguez said the airport isn't being impacted as much as other parts of the country.

"As much as we can make the experience more comfortable for the passengers, we can, but it comes down to the airlines and their operations," he said. "It's definitely something that we work very closely with them (on) so that we can address and provide any assistance the airlines may need to accommodate if passengers are going to be staying overnight, or whatever it is, that's affecting them due to the cancellations."

For flight information at El Paso International Airport, click here.