Palm Springs Airport increases baggage capacity ahead of holiday travel rush

Thanksgiving is just a week away, which means a big holiday travel rush is fast approaching.

Travelers arriving and leaving the Palm Springs International Airport are moving steadily through check-in and baggage claim.

First-time visitor Alyssa Bungo came to Palm Springs for a girls trip. She tells us it was smooth sailing for them after they landed.

“It was fine. I mean, I didn't see my baggage come through for a while and it ended up just being it was sitting across the way but um, yeah, I feel like all the bags went through pretty quickly," Bungo said.

But in just a few days, the airport is expected to be packed with 20% more travelers than last year’s record-breaking season.

Deputy Director of Marketing for the Airport, Daniel Meier, tells us with an increase in travelers- they’re also gearing up to make sure their bags and luggages are on-time too.

“We've increased our capacity for the baggage system. We've hired some stuffing to help move baggage to the back into the house to help alleviate any pressures there," Meier said.

After running into some problems with their baggage system last year, they say it’s been improved to take on the travel rush.

“We've made some enhancements to it to increase the baggage processing. So far, it's running smoothly. It's doing much better than last season, but we still want people to get here early to make sure they and their bags make the plane,” Meier explained.

Bungo tells me she and her friends will be heading back home to New York on Tuesday. She says they plans on getting to the airport early, so she doesn’t run into any problems going back.

“I'm sure we're gonna see delays. Since we do live in Rochester, we're probably going to get snow delays, maybe with the weather, but I'm not really worried. This is kind of a small airport. So I think we'll be good," Bungo said.

Are you heading out for the holidays?

The airport says travelers should prepare ahead of time so they can avoid delays.

They’re urging people to:

• Arrive 2 hours early if you’re checking in bags and 90 minutes early if you have carry-ons
• Get a ride a to the airport since their expecting their parking lots to fill-up right away
• Be sure to download your airline’s app to speed up the check-in process