El Paso International Airport seeing 80% increase in passengers for Christmas travel

EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) -- Airport officials are warning passengers to prepare for long lines as holiday travel really starts to ramp up.

For perspective more than 21 million Americans were screened by Transportation Safety Administration around the Thanksgiving Holiday. TSA officials tell ABC-7 expect that number to grow even more as we approach Christmas.

On Sunday, TSA screened more than two million passengers, compared to one million the same time last year.
Long lines at security check points are only expected to get longer. A spokesperson for TSA of Texas said many people are traveling for the first time in a more than one year.

"What happens is people forget certain things when they travel...and they leave their perfume in their bag, or they might bring a prohibited item," said Patricia Mancha, spokesperson for TSA. "Every time that we find a prohibited item in their bag, a traveler is delayed between three to five minutes and that means everyone in line behind them is also delayed."

And El Paso is no exception. Airport officials say they've seen in 80 percent increase in travelers compared to this same time last year. Viewers calling our newsroom saying this is the busiest they've ever seen the airport.

"We have about 16 flights that depart between 5 a.m. and 9 a.m.," said Cassandra Davisson, marketing and customer relations coordinator for El Paso International Airport. "So it's a lot of flights that are getting moved out around the same time period. People are coming in and going through the lines, a large group of people are doing that all at the same time."

ABC-7 asked TSA and airport officials if staffing was an issue. Both agencies said no, however a spokesperson for TSA said the agency is always hiring.

Here are some tips to keep in mind courtesy of TSA:

• Arrive early, at least two hours. If you're flying internationally make it three.

• Make sure to double check your carry on for any prohibited items. Anything from knives, pepper spray, or stun guns just to name a few are not allowed.
• The big one that's easy to forget -- only 3.4 ounces of liquid of an item are allowed.

For a look at flight times at the El Paso International Airport, click here.