RSW — Travelers at Southwest Florida International Airport experienced minimal delays and cancellations on Wednesday as they headed to Thanksgiving destinations across the country.
FOX 4 spent Wednesday morning at RSW observing steady passenger flow with few disruptions to holiday travel plans. The departure boards showed mostly on-time flights, and passengers reported smooth experiences despite typical holiday travel concerns.
Watch Fox 4's Allie Kaiser talk with Thanksgiving travelers:
Mike Spettel, who flew in from Los Angeles on a red-eye flight to visit family for Thanksgiving, said his travel experience was manageable.
"It didn't seem a lot more stressful than the last few times that I've traveled on Thanksgiving," Spettel said.
The Bruning family, also traveling to visit relatives for the holiday, arrived at their departure airport early due to concerns about potential air traffic control issues related to the recent government shutdown.
"Who knows with the air traffic controllers. We just wanted to get there really early," Rebecca Bruning said.
The family brought along two four-legged travelers, Jolene and Dolly, dressed in football jerseys to maintain the Thanksgiving spirit during their journey.
"We had to represent on the airplane," Bruning said.
Not all travelers were heading to traditional Thanksgiving gatherings. Mary Brunk was departing for a national English bulldog competition where she serves as a judge.
"The kids say that, 'Oh no, it's the dogs again, Mom.' Yeah, it is," Brunk said about her family's reaction to her travel plans. "They either come with us, or we celebrate after."
Throughout the day, passengers consistently reported easy experiences navigating the airport and reaching their destinations, despite the busy time of year. Airport officials recommend checking flight status before arriving at RSW, as conditions can change throughout the busy holiday travel period.
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