PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) -- Many people are traveling for Labor Day weekend. Officials at Philadelphia International Airport expect a big jump in volume compared to last year.
Early on, Friday morning, the lines were really long at the TSA checkpoints at terminals D and E. Among those patiently waiting was Carolyn, heading back to Florida after visiting her grandkids.
"I get to come to Philly, a great city, three or four times a year," she said.
But this is the busiest morning Carolyn has been a part of. Airport officials are estimating 481,000 people would be coming in and flying out during the Labor Day travel period. That's up 17% compared to the holiday weekend a year ago.
Among those traveling, was Moriah who took the redeye from Los Angeles with her favorite companion -- her cat, Princess Baby.
"I had a cat, so she screamed the whole time, so I couldn't really get a lot of sleep," she said.
Sicklerville, N.J., is home, and Moriah hasn't been back since January. When it comes to travel, she has an interesting perspective, because she books flights for her boss. And she talked about how wild a ride that has been this summer.
"The prices have just been astronomical, and the people who manage our finances are like: 'Hey, can you book like a month in advance or two months in advance to make it cheaper?' But we just don't know that far in advance. It's just been a lot of push and pull."
It has been a tumultuous period for the airlines and travelers. On top of the prices, there have been a whole bunch of cancellations.
Because of all those canceled flights, the Department of Transportation released an airline customer service dashboard ahead of Labor Day that shows what kind of refunds and accommodations passengers are entitled to for the ten largest airlines in the country.
"I moved to Los Angeles for school five years ago. Now, I work out there but New Jersey is always home."
More specifically Sicklerville is home for Moriah and her family."Down Atlantic City, down the shore. We may visit some family and friends. We may have a couple of cookouts."
