Fourth Flight Frenzy: Sunport has rush of traffic for holiday weekend

Albuquerque International Sunport was a travel hotspot in the Southwest region during the Fourth of July holiday weekend.

According to U.S. Transportation Security Administration, more than 3 million people passed through airport security at the nation’s airports on Sunday, making it a record day for TSA. Previously, the record was set June 29 when over 2.99 million people passed through security.

Although Sunport won’t have exact numbers about the holiday weekend until the Department of Transportation finalizes the data, Sunport officials were able to confirm it experienced sky-high numbers.

“While we do keep a pulse on individual flight performance, detailed data is provided by the DOT and is several months delayed. We do not keep track of what cities get the most travel during any specific week or weekend,” airport officials said in an email to the Journal.

According to Leah Black, a Sunport public information officer, the airport had a greater number of passengers pass through the airport on the holiday week than in recent years and before the pandemic, with roughly 145,000 total passengers between June 29-July 7.

“It’s important to note that New Mexico is more of a drive market for this particular holiday as people tend to look to outdoor recreation such as lakes, mountains, camping,” said Diana Lopez, public information officer to the Sunport airport.

Because of New Mexico’s outdoor activities, airport officials expected a large number of people entering and leaving the state for the holiday weekend.

“I think that more people have an urge to travel again,” Black said. “I also think, in general, we have more people in New Mexico than we did before so we have more people traveling in and out of the state as a result,” she said.

She said that Sunport is offering more nonstop direct flights than ever before, which is encouraging people to book a flight through the airport.

Sunport has prepared itself for the influx of travelers, according to Lopez.

According to Lopez, security personnel numbers are increased during the holiday to provide protection and support.

Sunport Ambassadors, volunteers that support airline travelers who have questions like directions to baggage claims, also have increased personnel on site. Alongside them are the ABQ K9 Crew, a group of trained therapy dogs and dog handlers. The K9 Crew wears bright yellow clothing so travelers can easily see them and ask for help. The dogs have bright yellow “PET ME” vests so travelers know the dogs are trained and friendly.

“We ask our Sunport Ambassadors and K-9 therapy dogs to increase their presence as well during high traffic days, as traveling during these days can be a bit stressful,” Lopez said.

Other airline workers also prepared for busier and longer days at Sunport.

Lopez said airline partners and concessionaires made necessary adjustments to both their staffing levels and hours of operation to better serve travelers.

Busy weekends can spell trouble for airports, but “as far as major delays or cancellations, there were some storms on the East Coast; however, the Sunport saw zero cancellations because of it,” Lopez said in an email .

“We had some delays, but other airports were affected much more due to the storms at those locations. Overall, operations went pretty smoothly here at the Sunport during the Fourth of July holiday.”