DALLAS — “Oh how a year can change things.” That’s what Dallas Love Field tweeted Monday morning, announcing Parking Garage B is at capacity for the first time since March 8, 2020.
Love Field estimates how many passengers passed through its airport by looking at daily booking numbers. Numbers show roughly 12,276 passengers came through the security checkpoint Monday. That's about 1,700 more than the same day last year. But not as much as the same day two years ago.
Checkpoint numbers for March 15
- 2021: 12,276
- 2020: 10,558
- 2019: 17,516
Approximately 5,000 additional passengers were scheduled to transfer at Love Field on Monday, a spokesperson told WFAA.
The airport reports it's seen a higher percentage of transfer passengers throughout the pandemic.
With spring break on the calendar for many, the past weekend was a busy one for Love Field. More than 12,000 passengers came through each day since Friday. And each day saw more passengers than the same day last year.
Danny Fallon’s Southwest flight landed in Dallas from Ft. Lauderdale early Monday morning.
He said his flight was “full to the gills” and admitted it was “weird” traveling and going through airport security in 2021.
“Taking off your shoes and doing everything else: You’re so close to each other, but you’re still wearing a mask,” Fallon said. “It’s just weird. I thought about it today, where I just remember how it used to be nothing to be close to people. You didn’t think about it back then, you know? You’re just trying to get through (security). And now you’re trying to get through, but I got to wear a mask and be safe.”
Karen Glover also flew into Love Field from St. Louis Monday morning. She told WFAA her flight was “packed like bananas.”
“A lot of people are flying more than I’ve seen in the last month or two,” Glover said.
Glover said the last time she flew was back in January, and it wasn’t nearly as crowded as what she saw Monday.
Glover said for the most part, she feels safe flying.
“That last flight was uncomfortable, but that’s about it," she said. "If they can space it out a little bit more. But other than that, I do feel comfortable. Everybody was adhering to the laws, and they were doing what they were supposed to do.’”
According to TSA, Sunday marked the ninth day this month that more than one million people passed through their security checkpoints nationwide. During the pandemic, these numbers have typically stayed between 500,000 to 900,000 travelers per day.