Labor Day Travel: Top Ten Busiest Airports
by Wendy Perrin
The helpful folks over at Orbitz have crunched the data and furnished a list of the U.S. airports that will prove most hellish this Labor Day weekend. Here's where you will need the most patience and best crowd-avoidance skills:
1. Chicago O'Hare
2. Charlotte, N.C.
3. Philadelphia
4. Atlanta
5. Las Vegas
6. La Guardia (New York City)
7. Denver
8. Los Angeles (LAX)
9. Phoenix
10. Dallas/Fort Worth
Bound for any of these airports? Cut down on your waiting time, minimize the hassle, and prepare for the worst by taking the following precautions:
*Check in online instead of at the airport.
*Fly with carry-ons only.
*If you must check luggage, do it curbside.
*Carry a good book to make the security lines and tarmac waits more tolerable.
*If you're flying from an airport where everyone must go through the same security checkpoint (e.g., Atlanta), give yourself an extra hour for coping with the hassle.
*If you're flying with young children, bring along the right supplies to keep them content.
*If you're flying USAirways, expect a horror show -- Charlotte and Philadelphia are both Useless Air hubs, after all -- and read Joe Brancatelli and The Cranky Flier so as to be fully prepared.
Speaking of Charlotte, my husband was stuck at Douglas International two weeks ago and, when he tried to call to inform me of a flight delay, found that there was no T-Mobile cell-phone service. He ended up calling me twice from a pay phone, using his credit card number. Today I got the bill. The cost for two three-minute calls was -- I kid you not -- $60.38. So, if you're a T-Mobiler flying through Charlotte, tell your loved ones to check USAirways' site for flight-delay updates rather than await a call from you.
To find out which foreign airports will be most crowded this weekend, as well as which U.S. and foreign cities will be busiest, check out these other interesting predictions from Orbitz.
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