Salt Lake City International Airport communications director Nancy Volmer said during the holidays, crowds can range from 26,000 to up to 33,000 people per day.
“There definitely are more passengers coming to the airport, but we're just not seeing those big days like we did around Thanksgiving,” she said. “Now, that will change when people are arriving home. For example, the weekends after both Christmas and New Year's are expected to be very busy at the airport.”
She said the airport is preparing for the hectic holiday travel.
“We work with all of our tenants, with the TSA, with our concessions, to make sure we're staffed up so we can handle the increase in passengers.”
To ease the stress and anxiety, Volmer stresses travelers should arrive early.
“We always ask people to allow plenty of time coming to the airport; two hours if you're flying domestically, three hours if you're flying internationally,” she said. “And also make sure that you know what you can pack in your carry-on so that it doesn't delay people who are going through the security screening delaying those behind you.”
Volmer said when it comes to the passenger experience, the airport’s recent additions have made a huge difference, including the opening of the new River Tunnel.
“When people are exiting the security checkpoint, they turn right before they would typically turn left to get to the A or the B concourses,” she said. “Now they can turn right to access more gates on Concourse A East and then they can go straight through the River Tunnel and into Concourse B Plaza.”
Salt Lake City International Airport is expected to be completed in 2026 and will include 16 more gates and 12 new concessions.
