It's a busy time for airport, travelers
<p>A Delta Air Lines flight takes off on Monday from Glacier Park International Airport. (Brenda Ahearn/Daily Inter Lake)</p>
The numbers haven’t been tallied yet, but suffice to say it’s a very busy week at Glacier Park International Airport.
“Our advance bookings were very strong,” Airport Manager Cindi Martin said. “Our LA [Los Angeles] flight started Saturday and advance bookings for that flight are very, very strong.”
Delta Airlines scheduled a two-week run of direct flights from Los Angeles to the Flathead Valley for the holiday season, running from Dec. 21 to Jan. 5. It’s a test run to determine the viability of the route.
With Christmas falling in the middle of the week, the Saturdays bookending the Christmas and New Year’s holidays — Dec. 21 and Jan. 5 — are expected to be the heaviest travel days of the season.
Airlines For America’s annual winter holiday air travel forecast projects that 44.3 million customers will fly on U.S. airlines during the 21-day period from Dec. 16 through Jan. 5, a 2 percent increase from the 2013 holiday season.
Martin said bad weather in other parts of the country can have an impact on travelers nationwide. She encourages passengers to pack a carry-on bag that contains essentials and a change of clothes in the event of delays or even cancellations.
Wrapped Christmas presents aren’t allowed in carry-on bags, and passengers should allow an extra 15 to 20 minutes more than usual because of heavy traffic.