Hunters and Thanksgiving travelers fill flights at Central Wisconsin Airport

MOSINEE, Wis. (WSAW) - It’s one of the busiest travel holidays, and more than 100,000 people are expected to travel by air in Wisconsin. So, it’s no surprise the Central Wisconsin Airport in Mosinee is expecting completely full flights this week.

The airport director says if you want things to speed along in line, make sure you know what can go in your carry-on and what needs to be in your checked bags.

If you’ve ever flown out of CWA, you know how quickly you can get from the front door to your plane compared to larger airports. Brian Grefe is the airport director at CWA. He says wait times are usually 15 to 20 minutes, but with an increase in travelers, wait times are expected to double. And if people don’t know TSA rules, the wait could be even longer.

“If you have a prohibited item or say a liquid gel or aerosol that’s too large in your carry-on bag, it’ll slow down your time but also everybody behind you. So that can be a compounding effect. That’s why it’s so important to pack smart,” said Brian Grefe, airport director at Central Wisconsin Airport.

Grefe said the increased air traffic this week isn’t just because of Thanksgiving, it’s also because of hunters flocking to the area to harvest one of the state’s prized white-tailed bucks. Wednesday will be busy, but not as busy as Sunday.

“Where we really see that most travel is outbound,” Grefe said.

Grefe says the Sunday after Thanksgiving, or the Sunday after Christmas are the busiest days the airport sees each year.

“We’re expecting completely full flights. We’re planning for that. We’re staffing for that. And staffing for a little different variety of travelers,” says Grefe.

On their busiest day, Brian says they will have one flight on Avelo, two flights on Delta, and three flights on American.

He said knowing that it will be busy and planning ahead will make it easier for everyone.

“Just give yourself extra time for every phase of travel. Plan for a little extra time on the road, a little extra time through check-in through a security checkpoint, so you can get to your destination in a stress-free manner,” said Grefe.

If you’re picking someone up from the airport, you can check the flight’s status on CWA’s website. Click here to visit the website.

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