Passengers Crowd Jackson Evers Airport - MSNewsNow.com - Jackson, MS

Passengers Crowd Jackson Evers Airport

By Bert Case - bio | email

JACKSON, MS (WLBT)- At first glance airport traffic in Jackson looked very light for Christmas season, but as the morning developed more and more people came and by eleven o'clock a line was forming because of the new procedures used by the Transportation Security Administration.  Airport Executive Director Dirk Vanderleest was pleased with the increase in traffic this year.

Dirk said, "Considering the economy, considering the airlines, and everything else, yes, we are ok so I am looking for a positive 2011." The Jackson Evers-International Airport was complete with Rell Weber of Terry playing Christmas tunes on his saxophone, just to bring cheer to the travelers.

Mildred Bailey, a passenger from Cleveland, Mississippi flying to visit her daughter and family in Jacksonville was pleasantly surprised by the early crowd.

Bailey said, "Doesn't look too crowded to me. I am afraid it's not gonna be like this in Jacksonville."

Katrina Barreca and her dog Isabella flew in from Philadelphia with Dr. John Mausour from Miami visiting relatives in the delta. "It's pretty crowded in Philadelphia, we had to leave at like three this morning to get there, so the lines are pretty long, not much of a crowd here, yeah I know it seems like not too bad, a lot easier to leave," said Barreca.

There was a line caused by the new TSA security procedures at Jackson Evers International Airport.  Dirk Vanderleest tells us there are $50 million dollars worth of improvements on the books at this facility. 

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