(CBS-DETROIT) — Christmas Eve is Tuesday, but it’s already been a busy time at airports across the country, with families beginning their holiday travels.
AAA predicts that nearly 8 million Americans will travel by air between now and the end of the year.
Metro Detroit didn’t see much snow Friday, but at Detroit Metro Airport, more than 200 flights were delayed and a few others were canceled throughout the day.
However, travelers at DTW say they had planned ahead and focused on their trip over the holidays. One family made sure to book their flight a day earlier than necessary for their cruise from Florida.
“We learned the hard way: Don’t book it in the morning so we can rush to the boat. We book it the night before so we can relax and not have any arguments or yelling, said Clinton’s Shaneece.” If they were delayed, do the flight like they do in December, we can just catch it tomorrow morning and still make it, so that’s our goal: a stress-free Christmas.”
Delays at DTW eased into the evening on Friday, and although lines for both baggage check-in and security were longer than normal, it was an easy evening for Christmas travel.
“We’re not too worried about delays because everything seems to be working very efficiently here. Everyone is moving luggage and people very quickly,” said Richard Hartman of Coldwater.