EL Paso International Airport prepares for ‘busiest travel day of the year’

47-million. That’s how many people are traveling Wednesday alone, according to AAA. Preparing for the madness is no easy task. El Paso International Airport officials say all hands are on deck today.

The airport’s peak began at six in the morning until about nine in the morning. Its second peak time began at three and ended at about five in the afternoon. Nationwide, AAA estimates an average of 65-thousand more passengers flying to the ‘hot spots’ like Dallas, New York, Los Angeles, each day this holiday season than last year. It’s still too early to tell exactly how many people will be flying into and out of El Paso, but airport officials tell me that figure is well into the thousands.

In terms of preparation on the airport’s end, fliers will see more staff on hand than usual for each airline, and for security as well, especially with a travel advisory in place. All of this, takes months of planning:

“It usually begins six months prior to this day. It’s just so busy there’s a lot of preparation, a lot of staff work done as a team, but we’re ready to receive everyone and to get everyone out on time and receiving everyone ready to see their family members,” Spokeswoman Liz Bellegarde said.

Sunday and Monday are also expected to be busy travel days. Bellegarde advises fliers to arrive at least two hours before flying out and have a prime boarding pass ready.