ST. LOUIS — Sunday was the busiest travel day at St. Louis Lambert International Airport for the Thanksgiving travel period.
The Transportation Security Administration predicted 24,616 fliers would fly back into Lambert on Sunday.
"It was crazy. It was jam-packed and full of people," said Amrit Gill, who lives in St. Louis.
People returning home to St. Louis had mixed feelings about the crowded airports.
"It was pretty busy. I had to wait in line to get to security quite a bit, which wasn't ideal because I was a little late, but I made it to the flight on time, so no complaints," said Sochie Odunlami, a Washington University student.
"They haven't been bad," said Missy Bittle of Marion, Illinois. "It's been smooth flights and on time and really nice."
As of Sunday morning, about 30 inbound and outbound flights were delayed in St. Louis. However, things were running smoothly later in the evening with only a few delays.
"The plane coming in was delayed, so we got delayed," Gill said. "There were probably 300 American Airlines flights leaving out of Miami in the span of an hour. So just sitting there watching thousands and thousands of people in that concourse, it was amazing."
Most of those who were returning from their Thanksgiving holiday were college students and families.
"It was pretty busy, especially with a toddler. There were some challenges, but it was good," said Aubry Gannon, who lives in Marine, Illinois.
"Probably half the flight was WashU students. We knew three-quarters of the kids on the flight," said Washington University student Maria Loss.
After a long weekend and being on packed flights, these travelers all said they were ready to be home.
"It definitely could've been worse, so it's not too bad," Odunlami said.
As air travel numbers continue to increase post-pandemic, nearly 203,000 travelers were expected to come through Lambert Airport during the Thanksgiving travel period.
AAA predicted nearly 80 million people would drive at least 50 miles from home between the Tuesday before Thanksgiving and Monday.