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State officials are expecting more than 1 million passengers this month at Honolulu Airport, with some of the busiest travel days over the holiday weekend and long lines at security checkpoints.
The state Department of Transportation expects the number of passengers arriving and departing through the airport to be roughly the same as the 1.2 million travelers in December 2015.
The Transportation Security Administration, or TSA, said it has increased staffing and canine teams and is monitoring and deploying resources in anticipation of “record-setting numbers at our nation’s airports this year.”
TSA is projecting to screen more than 100 million passengers from Nov. 15 through Jan. 7.
| TSA TRAVEL TIPS
>> Apply for a trusted- traveler program such as TSA Precheck, Global Entry, NEXUS or SENTRI for a more convenient travel experience.
>> Tweet questions or concerns to @AskTSA for real-time assistance or via Facebook Messenger on weekdays from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. and weekends and holidays from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.
>> Incorporate additional time into your travel plans for traffic, parking, rental car returns and airline check-in. Arrive up to two hours in advance of your flight departure time for domestic travel and three hours for international flights.
>> Prepare for security by having a valid ID and boarding pass out, and remove large electronics, including laptops, and liquids from carry-on baggage. Avoid over-packing carry-ons and consider checking bags where feasible.
>> Follow the liquids rule. (Liquids, gels, aerosols, creams and pastes must be 3.4 ounces or less, and all containers must fit inside a single quart-size plastic bag and be placed in a bin for carry-on baggage screening.)
>> Leave gifts unwrapped as TSA might have to unwrap them during security screening.
>> Pack food items. (If you are not sure whether a food item is considered a liquid or gel, it is best to pack the item in a checked bag or ship it to your destination in advance.) Items such as pies and cakes are allowed in your carry-on but could require further inspection.
>> Call TSA Cares at least 72 hours before traveling. Travelers or families of passengers with disabilities and/or medical conditions may call toll-free at 855-787-2227 with any questions about screening policies, procedures and what to expect at the security checkpoint, as well as arrange for assistance.
Source: TSA
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“Usually the busy time is the week before Christmas to New Year’s. It does also depend on what day the holidays fall on,” said DOT spokeswoman Shelly Kunishige. “It’s not like Thanksgiving where it falls on the same day of the week every year. There’s not as much pressure to get home on just that one holiday. Usually for Christmas they either want to get there on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day or New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day. Everybody has their different traditions. Of course, with Christmas you also have people bringing in presents and those kinds of things that could also hold up security lines.”
Hawaiian Airlines will carry about 380,000 passengers, up less than 1 percent year over year, from Dec. 23 to Jan. 2.
Hawaiian’s peak travel dates to the neighbor islands are Dec. 23 and 26, and Dec. 30 and Jan. 2 from the neighbor islands to Honolulu. Peak travel days coming in from the mainland are Friday and Christmas Eve, while the busiest returning days are Jan. 1 and 2, the airline said.
“We do have very full flights. Our flights to the mainland will be more than 90 percent full,” said Hawaiian spokeswoman Ann Botticelli. “We will also see more holiday traffic in January because school breaks are starting later this year. We’ve been working with TSA and have been able to get the wait lines to a very manageable level, about 15 minutes. Nonetheless, we do encourage people to come to the airport two hours prior to mainland flights. There is still a lot of congestion at the curb, where people drop off their travelers.”
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