BWI-Marshall expecting record number of travelers for Thanksgiving week

LINTHICUM, Md. — Based on summer traffic, Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport officials said they are expecting this week to be the biggest Thanksgiving travel season in the history of the airport.

Thanksgiving week is one of the busiest travel weeks of the year, and the Maryland Department of Transportation is taking some extra precautions and making some changes at BWI-Marshall Airport.

"This week in the airport industry, and here at BWI-Marshall, represents what we call our Super Bowl," said Ricky Smith, executive director of BWI-Marshall Airport.

This year, officials said they are more prepared than they've ever been.

"(The Transportation Security Administration) is predicting 30,000 to 40,000 passengers throughout BWI in a day during this holiday season. We normally have about 20,000 to 25,000 passengers a day coming to the airport, so we're expecting a pretty significant increase," Smith said.

Anyone who's flying out of BWI-Marshall, or who is picking up someone this week, needs to know about changes that should make the experience easier, airport officials said.

Passengers are reminded to get to the airport at least two hours early and expect long check-in lines.

There are many changes in place for the week aimed at making things easier for arriving and departing passengers, starting with brand new rental car shuttle buses equipped with WiFi and USB charging stations that are now 50 percent bigger.

This year, for people picking up passengers, the first hour of parking in the hourly lot is free. Maryland Transportation Secretary Pete Rahn said the free parking should keep a lot of traffic away from the terminal.

"It's much simpler to park, bring them inside and then exit. Your parking is all for free, as long as it's an hour or less," Rahn said.

Commercial vehicles, like hotel and off-site parking shuttles, as well as Uber and Lyft drivers, must use the departure upper level.

The cellphone lot has 50 additional spaces for those waiting to pick people up.

"We think that that will remove a lot of passengers from traveling on the roadways and offer significant convenience," Smith said.

For more information on what to expect at the airport the rest of the week, visit the BWI-Marshall Airport