Almost 80,000 people in Connecticut are expected to fly to their destinations for the Thanksgiving holiday, according to AAA. Passengers flying out of Bradley International Airport in Windsor Locks prepared for long lines and potential delays for the rainy and windy weather, but the majority of the flights left on time on Wednesday morning.
Michael Holkesvik and his fiancé Lindsey Uniat booked a flight early in the morning, hoping earlier would be better in case there were any delays. That was important to them since they had a layover.
“We’re headed to South Dakota to visit my family with my new fiancé,” said Michael Holkesvik, from New Haven.
“Hopefully good weather. We’re stopping in Minneapolis. It looks like the forecast there is ok, so hopefully our connection is on time,” said Lindsey Uniat, from New Haven.
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Other passengers like Carly Orlacchio, and her boyfriend Cade Andrews, were also flying west to Colorado, where they used to live, to visit family for the holiday.
“Super excited. We've been in Lebanon, New Hampshire for a couple years now. So, it's really exciting to go back to the mountains. I can't wait,” Orlacchio said. She was initially concerned about long lines at the airport so they made sure to arrive two hours early.
“I was worried. I've been here before. And the line was like out the door wrapped around. So I was really nervous where you're so early right now. So yeah, just to be safe. But this is really not that bad. So compared to what I've seen,” said Orlacchio.
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They were thankful to get a non-stop flight.
“A connection just adds so much more of a so much more to figure out. You know, if your first flight gets delayed, who knows what's gonna happen with your connection and then just more stress,” said Cade Andrews, from Lebanon, New Hampshire.
But other passengers like Sarah Bosco had to reschedule.
“I was supposed to fly out yesterday. My flight got delayed. So, we were going to miss our connecting flight. So, they rescheduled us to today. I was trying to miss this crazy, but it happens. So now we're back. Hopefully we'll make it this time,” said Bosco, from Clinton, CT.
Bosco was flying with her twin children who are almost two years old. She travels frequently with her kids for her work in the U.S. Army.
“This will be their 32nd flight. They bring a lot of snacks, lollipops, activities, toys for them to play with,” said Bosco.
Despite the rainy and windy weather, the majority of the flights arrived and left on time on Wednesday morning, aside from two delays to Chicago and Minneapolis.
Officials at the airport reminded passengers to check in at home and make sure the flight is still on time, as well as looking over the parking options to save some time finding parking in person.
