Published: March 28, 2008 04:25 pm            

No turbulence for spring break travelers

INDIANAPOLIS — Life’s a beach, but long waits at the airport are anything but.

Officials with the Indianapolis International Airport say spring break is officially underway and that means families and students will be in and out of the airport over the next month or so, depending on when their particular school is on break.

Susan Sullivan, media relations manager for the airport, said they were anticipating more 59,000 passengers traveling out of Indianapolis this weekend.

According to Transportation Security Administration (TSA) data, that’s fewer travelers than last year when 61,000 travelers passed through the airport on the same weekend.

Sullivan attributed the decrease in passenger volume to the increase in air fares and the economy. Record high prices for crude oil and refined jet fuel, she said, have resulted in higher air fares.

“U.S. consumers are feeling a little less than confident in the economy,” Sullivan said. “They don’t have the funds to travel this year like they did last year.”

Friday was the start of the spring break vacation for several school corporations in central Indiana.

John Crum, assistant principal at Plainfield High School, said they didn’t have classes on Friday and still some families left for vacation early. He said several students requested a pre-arranged absence to either leave school early or return a day or two late.

Crum explained that five days before students need a pre-arranged absence, their parents must come in and pick up a form that specifies certain dates they will be gone. Once it has been cleared and signed, Crum said students take it to their teachers to sign and pick up any homework they might miss.

As for Thursday, the school corporation’s last day before spring break, Crum said, “We had a smooth day. Attendance was not all that great, but it could have been worse.”

Crum said plenty of Plainfield students were planning to travel this week.

“We’ve got one in Australia and the rest are going to Florida,” he said.

Sullivan said the most popular destinations to travel for spring break are Phoenix, Las Vegas, and, of course, Florida.

She said passengers should arrive at the airport at least 90 minutes prior to their flight’s departure to allow ample time for parking, checking baggage, obtaining boarding passes, and negotiating security checkpoints, as well as adhering to TSA’s 3-1-1 rule.

Sullivan said that spring break — like Thanksgiving and Christmas holiday travel — are the peak travel times for Americans, especially the infrequent flyers.

“It’s the infrequent flyer that can really delay things in the security screening check point,” she added.

Ticket booths throughout the airport were packed with people hurrying to make their flights on Friday.

Terry, Linda, and Jordan Aders, and Jordan’s friend Christian Arbuckle, all of Plainfield, said they were headed to Texas.

“We’re going to Roswell, N.M., Corpus Christi, Texas, and San Antonio,” Jordan said.

Terry explained that they built this trip around Jordan’s interest in the UFO museum in Roswell.

Opting for a different location, Marika Lubarsky of Zionsville said her family is headed for Beaver Creek, Colo.

“We wanted to take the boys skiing out west,” Lubarsky said.

amanda.roach@flyergroup.com

        

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