Syracuse, New York – November 19th, 2024- The Syracuse Regional Airport Authority (SRAA) is prepared to welcome travelers to Syracuse Hancock International Airport (SYR) this holiday travel season. Defined as the 12-day period of Friday, November 22^nd through Tuesday, December 3^rd; SYR is expecting approximately 50,000 departing passengers; roughly the same level as last year.

Taking into account both arriving and departing passengers, the airport will see over 100,000 total passengers for the Thanksgiving travel period. Available seats are similar to last year, despite the exit of Southwest Airlines from the market. The eight commercial service airlines currently operating at SYR have increased service to accommodate the strong demand for air travel in the region.

The airport expects to reach three million total passengers (arrivals and departures) during the 2024 calendar year, an all-time record for the airport. At the national level, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) expects the three busiest Thanksgiving travel days to be Tuesday, November 26^th, Wednesday, November 27^th; and Sunday, December 1^st. Locally, Saturday, November 30^th; Sunday, December 1^st; and Monday December 2^nd are expected to be the busiest travel days at SYR. Each of these days, 10,500 to 11,500 passengers are expected to pass through the airport on departing or arriving flights.

“The SRAA and our airport partners are eager to welcome holiday travelers to our growing airport,” said SRAA Executive Director Jason Terreri. “Thanksgiving travelers will notice quite a bit of construction throughout the terminal. We’ve worked tirelessly to ensure the progress our team is making on these important projects continues while seamlessly providing a top-notch airport customer experience for our passengers.”

New last year, the TSA security checkpoint opens at 3:30 am to better accommodate the early “bank” – or cluster of flights departing SYR. Travelers are strongly encouraged to arrive to the airport two hours prior to their scheduled departure, and it is imperative to do so during the busy departure banks of 4:00 am – 6:00 am, 10:00 am – noon, and 4:00 pm – 6:00 pm.

Travelers driving and parking at the airport are encouraged to monitor drive-up parking availability in near-real-time on the airport’s parking webpage.

Travelers are encouraged to download their airline’s mobile app to receive rapid updates on the status of their flight and make changes in the event of delays or cancellations.

Central New York travelers can fly directly to 29 destinations via nonstop flights with eight airlines now operating regularly scheduled flights at SYR.