STUNNING videos have captured hours-long lines pouring out of the St. Louis Lambert International Airport after a two-week conference caused a travel nightmare.
Flyers stood outside in the heat and waited anxiously before missing their flights as airport staff crumpled under the airport’s busiest day in recorded history.
Lines into the St. Louis Lambert International Airport poured out onto the street on Sunday[/caption]
Thousands of passengers showed up at the same time and created a travel nightmare[/caption]
Many flyers were forced to rebook because of the chaos[/caption]
Travelers showing up for flights at the Missouri airport on Sunday watched in horror as bus after bus dumped thousands of people at the front doors.
A two-week-long Seventh Day Adventist convention had just concluded, and tens of thousands of people traveled from all over the world to attend.
Because the trip was so long, many attendees brought several checked bags each, and most of them didn’t have a Clear or TSA Precheck membership.
Many flyers who were caught behind the sudden rush waited in vain until they ultimately missed their trip and were forced to reschedule.
Elaine White, who was at the airport with her family, said there was nowhere to sit and that children were forced to lie on the ground.
“It was very chaotic,” she told CBS affiliate KMOV.
“No chairs […] and constantly people trying to rebook flights.”
Another passenger, Emily Sand, who was set to fly out on Monday, said that she showed up four hours early after seeing videos of the wild lines on TikTok.
She said she had to change her plans immediately out of fear that the chaos would bleed into her travel day.
“It showed us the worst case scenario just in case that were to happen today,” she told the outlet.
One outraged flyer claimed that they were out $12,000 after they were marked as a “no show” by Southwest Airlines and couldn’t get a refund, Fox affiliate KTVI reported.
BUSY SEASON
According to the Transportation Security Administration, officers screened 25,913 passengers that day, making it the busiest day in the airport’s history, NBC affiliate KSDK reported.
The airport’s director Rhonda Hamm-Niebruegge admitted that the scenario was a perfect storm for security checkpoint troubles.
She said the convention attendees all showed up at the same time Sunday morning, “regardless of what time they were scheduled.”
Between the number of checked bags and the lack of Clear and Precheck access, “it was hard for both the airlines and TSA to meet that volume,” she told KMOV.
“It is an oddity, not a norm,” she said.
St. Louis Lambert International Airport’s statement on the travel chaos
“Sunday morning St. Louis Lambert International Airport experienced a high volume of departing passengers.
“Much of this was due to the large number of delegates going home from the Seventh-day Adventists’ General Conference.
“We understand many of the delegates arrived at the airport early for flights scheduled later in the day.
“The situation was exacerbated by most passengers needing to check bags and few of these passengers being a member of a program designed to expedite airport security, such as TSA Pre-check or CLEAR.
“This led to the airport ticket counters and TSA security lines being overwhelmed.
“St. Louis Lambert International Airport apologizes for any delay experienced on Sunday.”
An estimated 50,000 traveled to St. Louis for the massive convention, according to reports.
All 50 states and more than 100 countries were represented at the event.
In a statement, the airport apologized for any delays that were caused by the nightmare.
In other travel news, the TSA released a warning over its “7-inch” rule that could get some passengers in trouble with security.
The airport had its busiest day in recorded history[/caption]
