Clear weather a boon to Atlanta travelers

A day after one of the busiest traveling days of the year, there was no congestion on the roads across metro Atlanta, no reports of traffic delays, and significant flight delays or security check lines at the world’s busiest airport.

Things started winding down Wednesday night across metro Atlanta, with traffic moving smoothly into and out of the city at 9 p.m.

Mike Morris / mmorris@ajc.com

Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport recently added seven security screening lanes.

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Rush hour came early Wednesday in lieu of Thanksgiving. The downtown connector was clogged by 2 p.m. as commuters headed home and travelers headed to the airport.

There, wait times were negligible — and not because more people chose to stay home this year. In fact, officials are expecting a slight uptick in passengers compared to the 2007 Thanksgiving holiday, said Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport spokesman John Kennedy.

Seven recently added security screening lanes seem to have made a big difference. Passengers breezed through the 32 lanes, making the day before Thanksgiving seem more like a Tuesday in February.

“The lines have consistently averaged no more than five minutes,” Kennedy said.

Melissa Black, of Alpharetta, confirmed that estimate, saying she got through the security line in under five minutes.

“This has never been this quick, ever,” said Black, flying to Chicago with her 15-year-old son, D.J. “The quickest drive, the quickest everything.”

Ron Ritchie of Atlanta arrived before 8 a.m. for his 10:30 a.m. flight to Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic, expecting to spend up to two hours clearing security. His actual wait time at the main security checkpoint: Two minutes.

“This is great,” he said. “I can’t believe it.”

Things were gummed up at the airport Tuesday night — not because of crowds, but because of a power outage that affected the parking lots and caused a four-hour traffic jam on roads to the terminals. The outage was cleared up by 10 p.m.

Drivers throughout Georgia on Wednesday found smooth sailing weather-wise, as the National Weather Service reported clear skies statewide at daybreak, with no rain in the forecast until late Thursday night.

The Thanksgiving Day forecast called for a high of 64 degrees in metro Atlanta. A 50 percent chance of rain is expected Friday, and a chance of showers predicted Saturday and Sunday.

Wet or dry, it will remain a cheap ride, as gas now averages $1.71 a gallon across metro Atlanta, the lowest Thanksgiving weekend price in four years. Several stations, particularly in the McDonough area and in Gwinnett County, had prices of less than $1.60 a gallon, according to atlantagasprices.com .