PORTLAND, Ore. — Sunday marks one of the busiest travel days of the year. Americans across the country headed home after spending Thanksgiving with family and friends. Travelers at the Portland International Airport (PDX) told KGW this year was one of the smoothest travel years they’ve ever had.
"This is probably one of the easier holidays I've flown out," Kyle Pointer, a Tualatin resident said.
Pointer and his young daughter landed at PDX Sunday morning, after spending a week in Austin, Texas.
There, the airport was very busy, Pointer said. Though after boarding, they didn’t have any further trouble coming back to Oregon.
"It means quite a bit, especially when dealing with little ones and kids,” Pointer said. “It means a lot to just be able to have a smooth go of it."
Other travelers also had surprisingly easy experiences.
"I mean it's definitely more relaxed than I was expecting," Thao Vu, a medical student at Western University of Health Sciences said.
"I was scared because I thought there'd be lots of delays, and I thought it'd be crazier in terms of security,” Mehr Boparai, another medical student said. “But it was super fine."
Sunday, PDX saw few delays or cancellations. Still, some travelers had more stressful trips.
"It was a little uncomfortable," Ian Pantoja said.
Pantoja said he almost missed his flight home to San Francisco on Wednesday.
"When I was coming to the Bay area for Thanksgiving, I was in the airport security checkpoint for at least 45 minutes," Pantoja said.
He got to PDX just 45 minutes before his flight was scheduled to depart. PDX advised travelers to arrive two and a half hours before domestic flights, and three before international flights over the Thanksgiving holiday.
Though on the way back to Portland, Pantoja arrived at the airport two hours before takeoff.
"My flight was at 8 a.m. and I got there at 6 a.m," he said.
