Words to wise travelers on busiest flight day: Check ahead

A mix of fog, rain and cloudy skies caused flight delays at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport Sunday morning, at the start of the busiest travel day of the year.

The Federal Aviation Administration reported arrival delays of about one and a half hours Sunday afternoon because of cloud coverage and low visibility in Atlanta and other cities.

National Weather Service meteorologist Patricia Atwell said weather conditions should cause low visibility, potentially slowing aircraft arrivals.

More than a quarter-million people are expected to pass through Atlanta’s airport to make the Sunday after Thanksgiving the busiest travel day of the year.

Many travelers departing Atlanta arrived early expecting crowds and long lines, but they breezed through the check-in process and were left with time to kill.

Anne Weller, who’d been visiting relatives in Cumming over the holiday, bought a cup of coffee and had more than two hours before her flight home to Missouri.

“It is especially light today,” Weller said. “Whenever I travel over lots of other holidays there are much longer waits. Who would expect this for Thanksgiving.”

Monica Hawkins of Conyers was waiting to pick up her 12-year-old son, Javon Purvis, who was flying in from Washington Dulles International Airport. His flight was delayed 30 minutes because of weather.

“You always expect some sort of delay over Thanksgiving, but this isn’t bad at all,” Hawkins said. “There was no traffic getting here and parking was a breeze. It should always be like this.”

Airport officials say they’re off to a crowded, but smooth start.

“This morning has been very, very busy but we’re getting people through the lines expeditiously,” airport spokesman John Kennedy said Sunday. “Everything is running smoothly as far as we’re concerned.”

Airport officials urged travelers to do their homework — checking flight status, security waits and available parking — before coming to the airport today. Travelers can access this information on the airport Web site, www.atlanta-airport.com.

As for those driving this holiday, things might get wintry north of the city. Cherokee and Forsyth counties and the northeast Georgia mountains could see snow flurries this evening as temperatures dip into the 30s, Atwell said.

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

Kennedy said the airport will be fully staffed for the expected second rush of holiday travelers.

Another major crush of travelers will continue Monday morning and Kennedy said the busiest hours will occur between 7 a.m. and 11 a.m.

Kennedy encouraged those picking up or dropping off travelers to use hourly parking. Those who park curbside or leave their cars unattended may be ticketed or towed, he said.

The AAA auto club has predicted 41 million Americans would travel more than 50 miles for the holiday, down about 1.5 percent from last Thanksgiving. Flying was expected to be down about 7 percent.

The Associated Press contributed to this article.