Thanksgiving travelers have faith in virus measures taken at Sky Harbor

PHOENIX – Undaunted by a pandemic surging in Arizona and across the country, travelers made their way through Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport on Wednesday to spend Thanksgiving with relatives and friends elsewhere.

Travelers arriving at Terminal 4 in the predawn hours saw fewer fellow passengers from this time a year ago.

Another visible difference was vending machines filled with coronavirus safety gear such as masks, sanitizer, wipes and thermometers.

Being on an airplane during the COVID crisis is nothing new for Alex Brumfield, originally from Gary, Indiana, who was flying to Chicago.

The former military man has flown recently and wasn’t worried about exposure to the virus while cooped up on a plane.

“They keep everybody safe, the planes are clean,” Brumfield told KTAR News 92.3 FM.

“I was going to go for Christmas, but then I decided to just come home for Thanksgiving,” he said. “I’m not excited for the cold, but I am excited to see my family.”

Another passenger, Zach Fabian, believes the airports and airlines are doing all they can to keep people safe.

“I don’t know what else they really could do,” Fabian said.

The airport requires anyone [some exceptions apply] going inside any of the facilities wear a face covering and social-distancing guidelines are in place.

Passenger traffic at one of the country’s busiest airports has begun to swing upward after a drop sparked by COVID-19.

The Phoenix Business Journal reported 1,409,849 passengers went through Sky Harbor in August. That was down from 3.7 million people in 2019.

KTAR News 92.3 FM’s Jim Cross and the Associated Press contributed to this report.

Follow @ktar923