Thousands of travelers expected at Mitchell International Airport Wednesday

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) –TSA officials say nearly 12,000 people will be traveling through Mitchell International Airport Wednesday on the busiest day of the Thanksgiving season. 

“I’m going for family time generally to be with everyone I love obviously," Elise Allee said who was headed to Kansas Wednesday morning. 

According to the TSA, Allee will joined by millions of others trying to make it to their holiday destinations. 

“We are going to have the TSA collectively 28 million people nationwide," TSA spokesperson Frank Pipia said. 

Pipia says they are seeing more people flying out of Mitchell International Airport this year compared to last year. 

“We’re a few percent up and that could even increase more depending on if airlines add more flights," Pipia said. "If they add more seats.”

Travelers CBS 58 spoke with had a variety of reasons why they chose the busiest day this week to fly out.

“It was the first day out of my college so it’s just like I want to go home as fast as possible to be with everyone as much as I can for the holidays I guess," Allee said. 

“For work reasons," Denise Buchanan said. "I can only take off X amount of days.”

TSA officials say you should get to the airport two hours early if you are flying out Wednesday because of the long lines that are expected. 

Mitchell Airport released the following statement Wednesday morning regarding parking:

“If you are picking up family or friends flying in for the Thanksgiving holiday today, the Airport is encouraging drivers to park in Hourly Parking and avoid traffic congestion on the Baggage Claim roadway. The first 30 minutes are free in Hourly Parking, giving you plenty of time to walk into the terminal, meet arriving passengers, and help with their luggage.”