BOISE AIRPORT, Idaho — The holiday season is the busiest time of year for the Boise Airport. Travelers may run into long lines and unexpected delays, but there are ways to make flying for Thanksgiving go smoothly.
- Showing up at least two hours early to the airport is the biggest tip for success.
- The cell phone waiting lot has moved to a much larger lot a 5-7 minute drive from the terminal. You can find more info about the new cell phone lot here.
- BOI has nearly 8,000 parking spots with many different options for holiday travelers. You can find more info on parking at the airport here.
- Thanksgiving foods like cranberry sauce, jams, jellies, gravy, or wine will be confiscated at TSA.
(Below is the transcript from the broadcast story)
"Thanksgiving and Christmas are definitely our busiest travel times of the year," says Boise Airport Spokesperson Jennifer Kronberg.
She tells me the holidays bring thousands of people through BOI.
"If you are traveling this week and going to see your loved ones who live outside of Boise, the biggest tip is to arrive early," says Kronberg.
Travelers leaving Boise can expect longer lines to check bags and to get through TSA screening — arriving at least two hours early will give folks time to navigate those long lines.
"This will be a great test of our new cell phone waiting area," added Kronberg.
As we've previously reported, the Boise Airport also recently opened a new cell phone waiting lot which is a 5-7 minute drive from the terminal — a new resource for those picking up passengers.
"I lived in Boise most of my life, my family is here, my husband's family is here. We're coming to see them and celebrate the holidays," says Maelyn Brieske, who traveled from Miami to be with her family for Thanksgiving.
"Florida is a two-hour difference, so whenever we come here it's always a very very very long day," says Brieske.
She tells me she got to the airport two and a half hours early to make sure she and her checked bag made it to Boise on time.
"And if we didn't get there early enough, then I don't know if we were gonna be able to check a bag because the lines were long," says Brieske.
The airport is busiest around 5 am -7 am and from 10 am to noon.
Travelers bound for Thanksgiving dinner may want to leave some items at home.
"Please don't bring any of your liquids or your gels. So bottles of wine, cranberry sauce, gravy — those things are gonna get taken away and we know you want them on your table, so please don't bring them," says Kronberg. "Show up early, but also bring your patience and a little dose of holiday spirit."
