Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport gets busy today. Everyone wants to be in New Orleans for Mardi Gras, except for a lot of New Orleanians who like to take advantage of the time off to get out of town!
"We're expecting to see increased passenger flow today through Sunday, March 10th, actually, so that's next Sunday," said Erin Burns with the airport. "We're averaging about 41,000 passengers in and out of the facility a day."
Burns said most people are arriving today, if they haven't already. So if you're headed through Armstrong International this weekend, expect traffic on the way there, and lots crowds when you get there.
"Given the increased activity we're going to be seeing, we definitely want to remind people to plan ahead," said Burns. "Arrive two hours early, be prepared for the potential traffic congestion around the airport roadways."
Burns says airport staff will be doing what they can to alleviate the stress of travel, especially the stress that can come with a busy airport.
"This morning, we're going to have our annual Krewe de Louis parade," she said, "where we are going to have a brass band and we decorate a golf cart like a float and we're going to ride around the terminal and hand out beads and trinkets to passengers as they're arriving in New Orleans, just to welcome them for carnival season."