Weather delaying Sky Harbor flights; lines inside short

Flights at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport were being delayed by bad weather as holiday travelers began to fill the airport Wednesday.

Lines at the airport had been short and fast-moving throughout the morning. But traffic at Sky Harbor began to pick up around noon. Stormy weather and low visibility was delaying arriving and departing flights. Some flights were arriving up to an hour late, while many departures were delayed 15 to 45 minutes.

Sky Harbor was among a handful of major airports across the country experiencing significant delays Wednesday. Airports in New Jersey and Las Vegas also had delays.

Despite the delays, some travelers were pleasantly surprised at how smoothly traffic was flowing.

Phoenix resident Jessica Johnston, 28, who travels to Aspen, Colo. every year, was pleased by the short lines and lighter traffic this year. “So far, it's not so bad,” Johnston said. “The traffic on the (Loop) 101 was bad, but everything else was fine.”

At the ticketing counters, lines were mostly sparse. The longest check-in line was about 10 minutes.

Security checkpoints at terminals 3 and 4 also had short lines. Most travelers waited less than 10 minutes to pass through. Checkpoint D at Terminal 4 had the longest line, with a wait around 15 minutes. Marvin Stanford, 38, of Phoenix, was sitting near a security checkpoint in Terminal 4 while waiting for his 3 p.m. flight to Maryland.

“I'm so surprised,” Stanford said. “I was expecting long lines. Being in the military, I'm used to long waits at airports, so this is nothing.”

A slumping economy was expected to discourage many would-be travelers, leading to lighter traffic at the airport. Sky Harbor spokeswoman Julie Rodriguez said the airport expected 10 to 15 percent fewer travelers over Thanksgiving. Still, 140,000 people were expected to go through the airport Wednesday.

Officials said there was still plenty of parking, though the West Economy Lot filled up around 8 a.m.

On the Valley freeways, sporadic rain and several car crashes congested traffic early Wednesday, but all major highways appeared to be flowing smoothly by mid-morning.

Jamie Kilstrom, her fiance, Kelly Glynn, and their 5-month-old son, Lucas Glynn, wait for Kilstrom's dad to arrive at Sky Harbor from Detroit.