It was forecasted to be DFW Airport’s busiest Thanksgiving ever and it certainly felt it. People flying in and out of DFW last night faced gridlock. NBC 5’s Katy Blakey spoke to people stuck in bumper-to-bumper traffic that caused frustration and missed flights for some.
Standstill traffic greeted travelers at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport Sunday night.
Jim Linker found himself stuck in bumper-to-bumper traffic. It took him nearly 45 minutes to travel from the airport’s north entrance to Terminal B. He watched as some people abandoned their rides to walk to the terminal.
“Coming in from the north, there was nothing but brake lights,” Linker said. “There were people dragging their suitcases through the gravel shoulder carrying bags.”
The airport took to social media to warn of congestion and said extra officers were brought in to get things moving outside the terminals.
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People stuck in the gridlock responded online with complaints of hour-long delays.
“I can not imagine what it would be like to have an outgoing flight and be in that panic mode of ‘Oh my gosh, I can’t even get to my terminal, let alone get through TSA and get to my gate,’” said Linker.
A spokesperson for DFW Airport said approximately 260,000 customers were at the airport Sunday and said the congestion was related to the heavy volume in a compressed timeframe.
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“Late Sunday night, you have people leaving to go and people coming back, so you got whacked both ways,” said CEO of Dynamic Travel Steve Cosgrove.
Cosgrove encourages travelers to use public transit during busy times to bypass the long waits at tollbooths and outside terminals.
“We’ll see it again at Christmas and New Year’s,” Cosgrove said.
NBC 5 asked the airport if anything would be done to address traffic for busy days ahead. An airport spokesperson encouraged travelers to allow extra time to reach the airport.
An update from DFW pic.twitter.com/a49QmZ6M6r
— DFW Airport (@DFWAirport) December 2, 2024
