SEATAC, Wash. — Sea-Tac International Airport was virtually empty for a portion of Tuesday during what should have been a very busy travel day, just two days before Thanksgiving.
“I worked at this airport for a year-and-a-half and this is really, really slow. This airport is usually super crowded no matter what time of year and this is insane,” said traveler Megan Reichel.
It's the latest reminder that this year is like no other.
“It’s almost like we’re flying in the off-season. Like when nobody else travels. It’s kind of weird,” Bridget Reichel said.
“There were empty rows in front of us and behind us, so it wasn’t very crowded,” Dave Reichel added. This, despite an urging from all levels of government for Americans to stay home and stay safe.
West Coast governors are urging visitors to self-quarantine for two weeks and here in Washington, Gov. Jay Inslee is asking families to rethink Thanksgiving.
“We weighed our options and everyone has been staying in and we took all the precautions necessary to have a safe and nice Thanksgiving Day this year,” John Reichel said.
The Reichel family is in from Texas. “We’re going to see my mother-in-law. She’s 87 and you just think, we’re in Texas, we don’t get to see her every day. So either we come now and see her for Thanksgiving while we have time off, or I mean, you never know when there is going to be another chance,” Bridget added.
There are the outliers, but airline travel is down significantly around the country. A year ago on Monday, 2.2 million travelers went through security checkpoints across the U.S. A year later, it's closer to 917,000 travelers. That’s a 60% dip in year-to-year holiday travel.