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Westchester Airport Is Calm During The Storm On Year's Busiest Travel Day

WESTCHESTER COUNTY, N.Y. – Heavy rains, gusty winds and flooding resulted in numerous issues for motorists in Westchester County on Thanksgiving Eve Wednesday, the busiest travel day of the year.

Dan Wallace gets ready to travel at the Westchester County Airport.

Dan Wallace gets ready to travel at the Westchester County Airport.

Photo Credit: Casey Donahue
West Point cadet Michael McKeon waits for his flight home to Alabama.

West Point cadet Michael McKeon waits for his flight home to Alabama.

Photo Credit: Casey Donahue

Portions of the Bronx River Parkway in White Plains, Hutchinson River Parkway in New Rochelle, Route 35 in Lewisboro and Route 119 in Greenburgh were closed for part of the day Wednesday because of either flooding or accidents.

The combination of the weather and volume of vehicles resulted in long delays on many of the county's roadways.

According to AAA, more than 43 million people will travel on Thanksgiving Eve Day and Thanksgiving, which usually leads to congested roads, packed airports and busy rail stations. Things were more complicated this year, with heavy rain and wind on the East Coast, further muddling holiday travel plans.

But it was a relatively calm day at the Westchester County Airport for most of the day. As of 3:30 p.m. on Wednesday, travelers could anticipate delays of up to a half hour, according to airport operations personnel. Things moved smoothly through the morning, with limited lines and nearly no delays though there were more delays toward the evening, with the length of the delays increasing as night fell.

Dan Wallace, who was scheduled to fly to his home in Lynchburg, Va., on Thursday, moved his flight up to Wednesday morning when he saw the sinister weather report. He was surprised by the short lines, and even took extra steps to change his flights to avoid one of the places expected to be hit by the storm hardest.

“I’ve got three planes to catch before I get home," he said. "I was supposed to go through Philadelphia, but when I heard about how bad Philly was expected to be, I rerouted.”

Michael McKeon, a West Point cadet, is a veteran of Thanksgiving travel. He also expressed surprise at the ease of his travel as he waited for his flight to Atlanta.

“I was a little nervous about delays from the storm, but so far, it’s been a piece of cake,” he added.

“This was probably the smoothest flight I’ve ever had,” Beverly Lips said upon her arrival from Orlando.

According to the FAA, John F. Kennedy and LaGuardia airport experienced moderate delays on Wednesday, with traffic to those airports being delayed at the departure points.

Not all travelers utilized planes and automobiles. Many also took to trains. Metro-North Railroad officials reported that there were no holiday-related delays on the tracks and Robert Sinclair, the media relations manager for AAA New York said that prices at the gas pump this holiday season will be the lowest in three years, with a national average of $3.29 per regular gallon (13 cents cheaper than year ago), with New Yorkers averaging $3.63 per gallon.

“I’m looking to beat the traffic on my way down to New Jersey for the holiday,” Oliver Patton said while filling up his car for $3.45 in New Rochelle. ”I’ve traveled the day before Thanksgiving often. It’s usually a mad house.”

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