Busy travel weekend runs smoothly at Savannah/Hilton Head airport

SAVANNAH, Ga. (WTOC) – AAA says it expected about a third of Americans to travel over Labor Day weekend, both on the ground and in the air.

The Savannah-Hilton Head International Airport served 18 percent more travelers this Labor Day weekend than last year, and saw very few issues in the process.

“We were lucky this weekend and everything went smoothly. You know, we had some delays, there were some weather issues, but no major cancellations or anything like that,” said Lori Lynah, the director of marketing at the airport.

With Labor Day marking the end of the summer travel season, Lynah says travelers can expect a slowdown at Savannah-Hilton Head in the month of September.

“It’s not going to be as busy nonstop. There’ll still be really busy days. We will definitely be busy on Thursdays through the weekends, on Mondays. A little bit slower through the week, then in October, it picks back up,” Lynah said.

That slowdown, Lynah says, will hopefully give airlines the chance to sort out pilot shortages and other issues that have caused mass cancellations, before the busy holiday season.

“This gives them a few months to add more staff and add more planes and more pilots across the board. So, I’m sure they’re preparing for that, but typically the holidays aren’t as busy as the heavy summer travel days,” Lynah said.

Lynah adds that in the months to come, getting to the airport an hour and a half before your flight should be sufficient. That’s a half hour later than was recommended during the summer months.

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