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Good Question: What Are The Busiest Times At The Airport?

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- Get ready to pack some patience if you're heading to the airport in the next few weeks.  Spring break coupled with a shortage of TSA workers at new checkpoints will mean some long lines at MSP.

So, what are the busiest times at the airport? Good Question.

According to Phil Burke, director of MSP Operations, there are several peak times throughout the day – 7 a.m., 9 a.m., 1 p.m., 5 p.m. and 7 p.m.

"That's when people want to fly," Burke said. "That's what the airline always tells us – we book flights for when people want to fly."

Flights that depart around 7 a.m. tend to be the most popular, which makes the 5:30 a.m. time period very busy in the security area.

"What will complicate things is that the 9 a.m. departure bank, people will show up exceptionally early and then we've got them bleeding in to that 7 a.m. departure and that's when things really get complicated," says Burke.

MSP gets daily reports from airlines on how many people are expected to fly, so the airport and TSA know how many people to expect. Generally, they have a timeline that goes two weeks out.

According to TSA, Thursday, Friday and Sunday are the busiest travel days nationwide in March.

Burke says MSP's busiest days are Thursday, Friday then Monday – in that order.

"Mondays are the leisure traveler going home and the business traveler heading out for the week," Burke says.

One-third of MSP flyers are business travelers and the other two-thirds travelers are flying for leisure.

"During the winter months, because people in Minnesota like to travel south, Saturday mornings are a very popular time as well," says Burke.

July and August are the busiest months at MSP and the Wednesday before MEA weekend is the busiest single day. March tends to also be crowded as schools spread out their spring breaks.

"We can tell you when all the schools are out," says Burke. "We've tracked it that closely."

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