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MSP Airport gears up for big Christmas travel weekend

MSP Airport gears up for 2 busiest days of travel ahead of Christmas holiday
MSP Airport gears up for 2 busiest days of travel ahead of Christmas holiday 03:23

MINNEAPOLIS — On Friday, more than 36,000 passengers are expected to check in and fly out of the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport.

These next two days may be busy, but this year has been particularly busy for MSP.

Traffic really started to pick up this fall when the airport set a post-pandemic record of nearly 50,000 passengers passing through TSA on Oct. 19 during MEA break.

Year to date, MSP is trending near 90% of 2019 levels when the airport served an all time high of 39.5 million passengers.

RELATED: MSP Airport expands, relocates Terminal 1 rideshare pick-up zone    

WCCO asks MSP Airport holiday travelers: "How are you feeling?" 03:45

Here are some tips for travelers:

  • Check your flight status before you leave for the airport
  • Get to the airport two hours before domestic departures, and three hours before international departures
  • Look at security wait times
  • Pre-book your parking to save you time and money
  • Don't take pre-wrapped gifts through TSA

Also remember, if you're taking an Uber or Lyft the pick-up location has changed at the airport. The Ground Transportation Center is now located on Level 1 of the Green/Gold Parking Ramps.

There's also an expanded cellphone lot on Post Road where you can wait if you're picking someone up. It now has 100 extra spaces, which is triple the size of the previous lot.

RELATED: When will MSP get renewable aviation fuel, which could cut emissions by 80% or more?

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