Thanksgiving travel begins this week at Albuquerque Sunport

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – As sure as there will be turkey on the table, Thanksgiving week will be the busiest time to travel. 

“Pack your patience,” said Leah Black, Albuquerque International Sunport’s Outreach & Marketing manager.

Because as you’re traveling, so are millions of others.

“We’re a little spoiled, because our airport is pretty small, and it’s usually pretty efficient to get through,” said Black.

Black says predictions are in the thousands for our midsize airport.

“On Wednesday, before Thanksgiving, 20,000 people coming and going through the Sunport, which is crazy. And then the second-busiest day is going to be the Sunday after Thanksgiving, at about 19,000 people,” Black said. 

She’s telling passengers to arrive at the Sunport three hours early. Black says that should be enough time to navigate any issues with traffic, ticket counter lines, and parking, which ran out of room quickly this time last year. 

“It’s going to fill up, it’s just a matter of when it will fill up. So I would say, watch our socials. But also, again, come three hours early because you might need to park in one of our third party off-site lots,” said Black. 

Those lots are right next to the Sunport and offer a shuttle ride to your terminal. Another place you might be waiting a bit? The TSA security lines. But Black says new tech at the Sunport is helping move things along.

“They’re getting more people through per hour now than they have in the past,” Black said. “When you see an open bin, go up to it, you don’t need to wait behind the person in front of you anymore. People are always worried that they’re cutting the line.”

Things will certainly get more hectic as the week goes on, but some passengers planned for it. 

“We’ve traveled before for Thanksgiving and decided to try and get ahead of it. So we’re doing Monday to Friday,” said Jennifer Clark, a visitor from New York. 

Clark is visiting family in Santa Fe and says it was a good decision to fly Monday. 

“We’re on time, and we had a connection. It’s been real easy,” said Clark. “One year we got caught in some weather, so we’ve decided this is a little easier.”

For locals Gail and Alan Hawkins, flying in Monday wasn’t a headache either.

“It was pretty busy, but it was very smooth. We didn’t have any problems,” said Gail.

Even if you are caught up in a hectic travel day, the Hawkins want to remind everyone to instead focus on the meaning of the holiday.

“Redeem the time. It’s precious. Be together and pay attention to one another,” said Alan.

As for hitting the roads, a spokesperson for the New Mexico Department of Transportation says construction on I-25 in the metro will continue.

Those lane closures won’t be lifted, but crews won’t be working Thanksgiving Day through Sunday.