SALT LAKE CITY — With the end of NBA All-Star Weekend, officials at Salt Lake City International Airport are projecting massive crowds Monday.
In fact, the airport could set a record for the number of travelers.
The airport and Transportation Security Administration believe Monday will be the busiest day on record as basketball fans leave northern Utah, while others depart following Presidents' Day Weekend.
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Officials believe 40,000 travelers will depart the airport on Monday, a 40% increase over usual travel for this time of year.
The busiest times at the airport are expected to be between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m., and then later between 3-5 p.m.
In anticipation of the massive crowds. TSA is increasing its workforce by bringing in an additional 40 officers from airports around the country. It's hoped that the reinforcements will help passenger screening.
Interestingly, regarding All-Star Weekend, the TSA is asking those travelers who purchased a game program as a souvenir to bring it as a carry-on and not pack them in baggage. They say placing the programs in checked bags could cause security screening equipment to unnecessarily alarm and potentially cause delays in checked baggage operations.
Officials did not explain why the programs could potentially trigger an alarm.
However, a study conducted over the course of last year shows that Salt Lake City is the most on-time airport in the country.
Cirium, an aviation analytics firm, released data that showed SLC Int'l was the third best in the world last year when it came to on-time departures — and the best throughout North America.
Flights out of Salt Lake City departed as scheduled 83.87% of the time in 2022, nearly a full percentage point ahead of Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport, the runner-up.
This is aided in a big way by Salt Lake's biggest carrier, Delta, which was listed as the most on-time airline in the country. SLC is one of Delta’s four big hubs across the United States, and the pair credit their partnership as the reason Utah's main airport did so well.
