Halifax airport warns travelers to arrive early for March break flights

Travelers are being asked to tack on some extra time to their itineraries in anticipation of longer than usual lines at Halifax Stanfield International Airport.

“This is a really busy time of year,” says airport spokesperson Tiffany Chase.

That means longer lines during check-in due to increased baggage and screening.

Chase recommends arriving at least 3 hours before departure, especially those heading to popular destinations in the south.

“It’s really more about being aware that more people are travelling this time of year. There are more flights operating, particularly to sun destinations. Those are larger aircraft, more people are on them and they have more bags,” Chase says.

That’s exactly what Kimball Augustine and his group of twelve from Elsipogtog First Nation did. They’ve been planning their trip to Disney for a year, so they arrived before noon for their 5:00 p.m. flight.

"There was a little bit of snow down home, so we left extra early this morning," said Augustine.

Marie Franck got caught up in the travel rush. She couldn’t get a return flight to Montreal from the Dominican Republic and was re-rerouted through Halifax. Hoping to save money, she decided to buy one-way tickets instead of booking a return flight. Lesson learned.

New Brunswick's March break is this week, while Nova Scotia students are off next week. Add on the closing of the Canada Games in P.E.I., all regional airports are expecting to be busy.

Weather is another thing to consider when travelling, and so is parking. There are 5,400 parking spaces available at the Halifax Stanfield International Airport, and with travel to sun destinations ramping up, those spaces are being filled up quickly.