Summer is a popular time to travel, and Vermont airports are no exception.
The Patrick Leahy Burlington International Airport (BTV) said it's seen an increase in passengers over the past few months, starting around the February break for many local schools.
Nic Longo, director of aviation at the airport, said vacation travel is back to pre-pandemic levels, especially around holidays like the Fourth of July.
“We saw close to 2,000, 2,200 passengers leaving Burlington every single day. So over 4,000 passengers in and out of BTV every single day,” said Longo, referring to the weekend before July 4.
Typically, BTV sees around 3,000 passengers per day.
Even with the high volume of travelers, Longo says staff have been able to keep up.
“So not just my staff, the airport, the ambassador team who greets everybody every single day, but TSA and the airlines and the rental car agencies are all geared up to see really increased travel throughout the summer,” he said.
According to the American Automobile Association (AAA), this summer is projected to be a record travel season. Over 2 million more people are expected to travel for the Fourth of July than in 2022.
A significant number of flights have been canceled and delayed this holiday weekend. The Guardian reports that in the week leading up to July 4, just under 30,000 flights were delayed and around 1,000 canceled.
Burlington has been no exception, with flights delayed mostly because of weather conditions in busy East Coast airports like New York and Philadelphia.
Longo recommends that Vermonters always be prepared when traveling.
“Really, really pay attention or download the airline applications on your phone or your devices,” Longo said. “If you can book a little bit more leniency on your connecting flights, if that's an option, sometimes that's a good thing.”
Longo said flights out of Burlington have not been affected by the Canadian wildfires that left Vermont blanketed in smoke earlier this week.
He said a high volume of travelers is expected to continue over the course of the summer.
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