Thousands of Minnesotans hit the gas on their holiday travel plans Wednesday, aiming to reach their Christmas destinations before a blizzard could sock them in.
Major airlines issued waivers to flyers in much of the nation, allowing people to accelerate or delay bookings without penalty. Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport was jammed with people as the first bank of flights departed, creating long lines at security check-ins.
By early afternoon, security lines were flowing freely and there had been few delays or cancellations.
"This feels good. The lines aren't long. This doesn't feel overwhelming," Charlesa Dixon of Minneapolis said after arriving several hours before a flight to Arizona on Sun Country Airlines.
But the evening brought possible complications: The Federal Aviation Administration had the airport under a "ground stop," which slows down incoming flights, for about 60 minutes.
Airport officials had been expecting the busiest travel days before Christmas to be Thursday and Friday. But Tuesday, they saw a jump of 2,000 additional travel bookings for Wednesday as people acted to get ahead of a storm expected to create havoc Thursday and Friday.
"Today might turn out to be the busier day of the holidays because people are trying to get out sooner than later," said Jeff Lea, an airport spokesman.
As snow fell during Dixon's drive to the airport, she said she became worried that her flight would be canceled. "But no delays so far. I did get insurance just in case," she said.
