TAMPA, Fla. — The busiest travel days of the year are upon us, and while things can be hectic when flying, Tampa International Airport officials say they are ready for all the travelers. 

TPA says they are averaging between 75,000 and 80,000 passengers a day during the holiday season, which is even more than what they saw before the pandemic.

Tommie Jones will be traveling to Canton, Ohio to see his family for the first time in quite a while. “I get to see my mom, I haven't seen her in 5 years.”

Tommie said it’s partly because of the distance, and partly because of the pandemic, but this Thanksgiving he wasn’t going to miss out on family time again because of COVID.

“I'm trying to be precautious, you know, where my mask, and I've got my vaccinations and my booster and everything else,” said Tommie.

And a lot of people are with Tommie, saying they feel good about traveling this holiday season. TPA reports a 30-40% increase in the number of passengers traveling through the airport each day this holiday season compared to last year.

To help, the “Blue Express” opened last week, just in time for the holidays. It’s the first in the country, and if someone doesn’t need to go to the ticketing counter, and doesn’t have bags to check, they can be dropped off at the Blue Express and go directly to the transfer level of the main terminal. While it certainly helps speed up the process, airport officials say things will still be busy.

“There's a lot of people traveling for the first time in a couple of years and you can tell because they're a little unfamiliar with the airport, unfamiliar with the process, so we ask all of our passengers to exercise patience when they come to the airport,” said Emily Nipps with Tampa International Airport.

And while patience isn’t always easy when traveling for the holidays, one traveler who will be seeing family in Sante Fe for the first time post-pandemic said to keep in mind what the season is all about.

“It's been a tough couple years I think for everybody involved with what happened last year, and we're all just getting back into it, so we should have a good spirit and be thankful for what we have and that's what Thanksgiving is for our country,” said Sidney Fox.