CLEVELAND — Parking, curbside-drop offs, and of course, security lines: Problems with any one of these can kill the holiday spirit.
Robert Kennedy, director of Cleveland Hopkins International Airport, says they have been preparing for the 300,000 air travelers expected to pass through the airport this week, a slight increase from last year.
3News reported earlier that construction on the parking garage closest to the terminal was taking up valuable space. Not anymore, says Kennedy.
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"100% of our parking in the smart garage will be available at 5 o’clock this afternoon, and may be now but I haven’t checked," Kennedy told us.
3News did check, and the spaces are available.
The airport has struggled to find the best place for ride sharing services to pick up and drop off passengers. At the moment, they can come and go curb space at the terminal.
"Curb occupancy time is key," Kennedy said. "We want you kiss people hello and hug so for, the but we want you to do it at home. Kiss them goodbye. Do that at home."
Airports get blamed for the security lines, which are managed by the federal government’s TSA. However, Kennedy says a plan is in place.
"They are bringing in extra staff and opening up south check point and baggage security service at 3:30 tomorrow morning through the holiday and have approved overtime for the extra staff," he explained.
The crush of passengers begins tomorrow. The airport is says its as ready as it can be.
"Between 5 a.m. and noon tomorrow we will have as many people as we can put on the floor," Kennedy said. "TSA has has additional people and airlines and so forth."
The weather is the biggest challenge, of course, so Kennedy said passengers should use their respective airline apps to avoid showing up when a flight has already been cancelled. Also, Kennedy offered a final bit of advice: Leave the turkeys at home.
He said its not urban legend: People do travel with frozen turkey’s which tend to slow down the lines.