Pack your patience. Thursday, Friday may be 2022's busiest days at Ottawa airport

The Ottawa International Airport is anticipating Thursday and Friday will be the busiest travel days of the year and suggests travellers plan accordingly. 

"It'll also be busy on Saturday, no doubt and there are still people who travel on Christmas Day itself," said airport spokesperson Krista Kealey. She added this will be the busiest the airport has been since 2019's holiday season, before the COVID-19 pandemic.

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As of late, Kealey said the most intensive peak hours have been during the early morning — between 6 a.m. and 8 a.m. — and suggests people abide by whatever arrival times their airlines recommend. 

After many highs and lows throughout the pandemic, she said the airport is finally seeing more steady rates of travel. 

On Monday, Kealey said the airport averaged between 4,800 and 5,500 departing passengers daily.

The airport is expecting those numbers will be about 6,000 passengers daily, closer to Christmas. 

'Very little travel to explosion': travel expert

Last year was on track for a busier travel year before Omicron reared its ugly head, Kealey said, with many people modifying their plans last minute. 

"It's going to be appreciably busier [this year]," she said. "But I think it's safe to say that all of the organizations [at] the airport are gearing up for it to prepare."

Martin Taller, co-ordinator of the tourism and travel program at Algonquin College, said this week will be a test for many of the nation's systems of travel.

"We can expect that this is an unusual time for the industry, because we've gone from very little travel to an explosion," he said. 

"The teams at airports, [from] check in, the security, the baggage handlers — they've not seen volume like this for a few years."

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Taller said another trend he's noticed is that tickets tend to be more expensive than they once were thanks to inflation, but have at least stabilized enough to allow people to properly plan their trips.    

He suggested people mask up while on the planes and indoors, as well as to be patient with staff.  

How to make your travel smoother

A winter storm with possible flash freezing and high winds is expected to hit the region starting Thursday night, so Environment Canada is warning people to review their travel plans.

Kealey said Ottawa's largely been spared some of the day-after-day endless lineups experienced at other airports across the continent — but said it's not immune to delays if staff get sick.

Besides arriving early, Kealey said people can make their travel smoother by checking what's allowed in their carry-on bags, using it to travel with valuables or medication just in case, having IDs ready and not wrapping gifts since they may require further inspection.

She also recommends people check with the Canadian Air Transport Security Authority to know what items they should leave home.

"I've been saying for 20 years that it's really important, especially during the holidays, everybody packs their patience," Kealey said.

"There are a lot of people who maybe aren't as familiar with the travel process or who haven't been in the airport for a very long time."