8 travel tips to survive Tucson International Airport Thanksgiving week
- Updated
Nearly 2 million Arizonans plan to travel over the Thanksgiving holiday, up 5.6 percent from last year, according to AAA Arizona’s annual travel forecast. Here are some tips to help you survive the hustle and bustle.
- David Wichner
- Updated
- Parking and construction: Installation of solar canopies in the parking lots in front of the terminal has temporarily taken out of service about one-third of the spaces in the daily lot. Alternatives are the parking structure off South Country Club Road or the Economy lot off East Corona Road, west of the entrance to the terminal.
- David Wichner
- Updated
Terminal construction: Passengers should be aware of temporary directional signage for ongoing terminal renovation work, but disruptions should be minimal.
- David Wichner
- Updated
American and United swap: In September, American Airlines and United Airlines swapped ticket counter and concourse locations. All American flights now depart and arrive on the B Concourse, and United flights arrive and depart from the A Concourse.
- David Wichner
- Updated
Aeromar: In October, international commercial airline service resumed with Aeromar flights to Mexico. Aeromar's check-in counter is on the east side of the terminal, next to Southwest, and its flights depart from gate A2. Arriving passengers can be met at the International ArrivalsÂ
- David Wichner
- Updated
Don't bring a Note 7: The U.S. Department of Transportation has banned all Samsung Galaxy Note 7 phone devices from aircraft, even turned off. If you have one, it's best not to even bring it to the airport.
- David Wichner
- Updated
Security lines: To allow time to navigate ticket counters and Transportation Security Administration checkpoints, plan on arriving at the airport at least 90 minutes ahead of departure time on the busiest travel days. Some airlines now require bags to be checked at least 45 minutes prior to departure.
- David Wichner
- Updated
For the Thanksgiving holiday, the busiest time is for flights departing from 6 to 9:30 a.m. and again in the afternoon for flights departing between 12:30 and 2:30 p.m., airport spokesman David Hatfield said.
- David Wichner
- Updated
Meeting arrivals: Real time flight arrival times are available on www.flytucson.com. A cellphone waiting lot is available free, turn right just before reaching the terminal to access the lot.
- David Wichner
- Updated
Nearly 2 million Arizonans plan to travel over the Thanksgiving holiday, up 5.6 percent from last year, according to AAA Arizona’s annual travel forecast.
But the number of Arizonans who plan to fly to their destinations is down 6 percent — the first drop in Thanksgiving air travel in four years, according to AAA’s annual survey.
The number of Arizonans who plan to drive is up 9 percent, likely because low gas prices are prompting more families to hit the road, AAA says.
With a current statewide average of $2.15 per gallon of regular, Arizona drivers will be paying pay the lowest gas prices for the Thanksgiving holiday since 2008.
AAA's annual survey counts travel of 50 miles or more, from Wednesday through Sunday.Â
Nationally, AAA projects that 48.7 million Americans will travel nationwide this Thanksgiving, a 1.9 percent jump from last year and the highest number of Thanksgiving travelers nationwide since 2007.
Thanksgiving air travel nationwide is expected to rise 1.6 percent, to 3.7 million travelers.
Of the estimated 1.9 million Arizonans traveling over the holiday, more than 345,000 plan to fly, AAA says.
The AAA survey was conducted by Phoenix-based Behavior Research Center.
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- David Wichner
- Parking and construction: Installation of solar canopies in the parking lots in front of the terminal has temporarily taken out of service about one-third of the spaces in the daily lot. Alternatives are the parking structure off South Country Club Road or the Economy lot off East Corona Road, west of the entrance to the terminal.
- David Wichner
American and United swap: In September, American Airlines and United Airlines swapped ticket counter and concourse locations. All American flights now depart and arrive on the B Concourse, and United flights arrive and depart from the A Concourse.
- David Wichner
Aeromar: In October, international commercial airline service resumed with Aeromar flights to Mexico. Aeromar's check-in counter is on the east side of the terminal, next to Southwest, and its flights depart from gate A2. Arriving passengers can be met at the International ArrivalsÂ
- David Wichner
Don't bring a Note 7: The U.S. Department of Transportation has banned all Samsung Galaxy Note 7 phone devices from aircraft, even turned off. If you have one, it's best not to even bring it to the airport.
- David Wichner
Security lines: To allow time to navigate ticket counters and Transportation Security Administration checkpoints, plan on arriving at the airport at least 90 minutes ahead of departure time on the busiest travel days. Some airlines now require bags to be checked at least 45 minutes prior to departure.
- David Wichner
For the Thanksgiving holiday, the busiest time is for flights departing from 6 to 9:30 a.m. and again in the afternoon for flights departing between 12:30 and 2:30 p.m., airport spokesman David Hatfield said.
- David Wichner
Meeting arrivals: Real time flight arrival times are available on www.flytucson.com. A cellphone waiting lot is available free, turn right just before reaching the terminal to access the lot.
- David Wichner
Nearly 2 million Arizonans plan to travel over the Thanksgiving holiday, up 5.6 percent from last year, according to AAA Arizona’s annual travel forecast.
But the number of Arizonans who plan to fly to their destinations is down 6 percent — the first drop in Thanksgiving air travel in four years, according to AAA’s annual survey.
The number of Arizonans who plan to drive is up 9 percent, likely because low gas prices are prompting more families to hit the road, AAA says.
With a current statewide average of $2.15 per gallon of regular, Arizona drivers will be paying pay the lowest gas prices for the Thanksgiving holiday since 2008.
AAA's annual survey counts travel of 50 miles or more, from Wednesday through Sunday.Â
Nationally, AAA projects that 48.7 million Americans will travel nationwide this Thanksgiving, a 1.9 percent jump from last year and the highest number of Thanksgiving travelers nationwide since 2007.
Thanksgiving air travel nationwide is expected to rise 1.6 percent, to 3.7 million travelers.
Of the estimated 1.9 million Arizonans traveling over the holiday, more than 345,000 plan to fly, AAA says.
The AAA survey was conducted by Phoenix-based Behavior Research Center.
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