Air passenger traffic increased at Lehigh Valley

Lehigh Valley International Airport has a travel tip for passengers in 2020 that have morning departures scheduled: give yourself extra time, so you don’t miss your flight.

Fresh off its highest traffic total since 2004, ABE experienced a significant increase of flights starting on Wednesday, due to the expansion of Allegiant’s air service.

“This growth spurt will include additional early morning departures, so passengers should not cut it close or they could miss their flight. We want to avoid any back log during screening at the TSA checkpoint,” said Thomas R. Stoudt, executive director, Lehigh-Northampton Airport Authority.

Passengers departing from the airport between 4 a.m. and 7 a.m., should arrive at least two hours before their flight to ensure they process through the Transportation Security Administration checkpoint in enough time so they can reach their gate for boarding.

Currently, the TSA checkpoint is open at 3 a.m. daily.

Last year, the Airport Authority unveiled a major terminal enhancement with a planned expansion of the TSA checkpoint and the construction of a new Terminal Connector with an approximate cost ranging from $22 to $26 million.

“Passenger growth is happening faster than our forecasts, and we must address these essential infrastructure improvements which include increased efficiency in passenger screening while elevating the level of customer service,” Stoudt said.

Areas of improvement include increasing capacity from two processing lanes to three (and eventually four) at the TSA checkpoint and intuitive wayfinding for inbound and outbound passenger flow while reducing the number of vertical transitions between floors.

Project completion is expected in early 2023.