Christmas Day proved to be a quieter travel day at Eppley Airfield, even as AAA predicts record-breaking holiday travel numbers nationwide.
I spoke with several travelers at the airport who confirmed what many aviation experts expected – most people prefer to reach their destinations by Christmas Eve, leaving Christmas Day with lighter crowds and shorter lines.
"I guessed that a lot of people wanna already be where they wanna be at on Christmas and so they'll be there by Christmas Eve," said Chrissandra Wells, an Omaha native who now works in New York City and was flying home to visit family with her twins.
AAA predicts more than 119 million Americans will travel 50 miles or more from home during the year-end holiday period, with Christmas Day itself seeing lighter crowds as most travelers reach their destinations by Christmas Eve.
For some travelers, Christmas Day flying is actually preferable. Brad Bothwell, who was traveling to Florida with his wife and daughter, said the timing works in their favor.
"The airports were basically empty. And the TSA was a breeze," Bothwell said.
The Bothwell family makes their Florida trip the week before Christmas a tradition, and they prefer flying home on Christmas Day specifically because of the reduced crowds.
DJ Mottl, another traveler I spoke with, was looking forward to warmer weather after experiencing Orlando's 82-degree temperatures.
"Well, it looks warm, but it was just 82 in Orlando yesterday, so I'm sure it'll be fantastic for a Nebraska Christmas," Mottl said.
Not everyone was flying into Omaha. Michelle Batzr and her son were departing Eppley for Florida to visit her parents, continuing their annual Christmas tradition.
"We normally travel right around this time every year to go see my parents anyway. They live in Florida, so it's a lot nicer weather down there, so we're willing to brave the potential delays to get to where it's warm," Batzr said.
All of the passengers I spoke with reported arriving and departing on time.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
