BALTIMORE — The region's airports kept up a busy but smooth pace Friday, as the holiday travel rush continued to build toward Christmas.
According to the Flight Aware Misery Map, cancellations remained in the single digits at each of the Washington region's three airports throughout the day Friday.
Los Angeles was the nation's most significant trouble spot due to weather in Southern California Friday, but the ripple effects of a high number of cancellations and delays there did not seriously impact DC area flight operations.
BWI Airport CEO and Executive Director Ricky Smith credited travelers who are adding extra time to keeping things running smoothly for every one else.
“The airlines are ready so we have to make sure the passengers are ready," Smith said.
Smith recommends travelers arrive at airports 2 hours before flight times for domestic flights and 3 hours for international flights.
Southwest Airlines is under particular scrutiny from passengers at BWI after a catastrophic 10-day system meltdown during the 2022 holiday travel season that left 2 million passengers stranded and millions of bags delayed.
Southwest handles 70% of BWI traffic.
The airline settled with the US Department of Transportation for $140 million in fines.
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