If it seemed a little more crowded this Thanksgiving than last year at Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport, there is a reason.
It was. There were more passengers.
Air travelers returned in droves to BWI this year following expansion and improvements that were finally completed.
“We had about 80,000 passengers on Wednesday before Thanksgiving,” said Ryan Nawrocki, a spokesman for the airport.
He said the airport expects to have 490,000 passengers go through the gates for the travel period from Nov. 20 to today.
That?s up 12 percent from last year, Nawrocki said.
He attributed the boom to the addition of two new flight piers serving Southwest Airlines as well as increased parking at the state?s largest airport.
He also added that the traditional Thanksgiving travel period “keeps growing” as passenger leave earlier and stay longer in an effort to avoid delays.
Meanwhile, motorist who filled up their tanks and traveled last week to Thanksgiving holiday destinations may end up paying more for gas on their return trip.
Gasoline prices continued to edge upward on Friday after months of rapid decline, according to the AAA Daily Fuel Gauge Report.
When rounded, the price for self-serve regular in Baltimore rose a penny to $2.17 per gallon from $2.16 per gallon a day earlier. And Friday?s price is up 5 cents from a month ago. A year ago, a gallon of self serve regular was $2.12 per gallon.
The average gas price in Maryland was $2.19 per gallon on Friday, up from $2.18 per gallon a day earlier. Friday?s Maryland price is also up 5 cents from a year ago.
