Chiefs, Eagles fans start mass exit from Phoenix following Super Bowl LVII
Feb 13, 2023, 2:01 PM
(KTAR News Photo/Jim Cross)
(KTAR News Photo/Jim Cross)
PHOENIX — With Super Bowl LVII in the rearview mirror, football fans left metro Phoenix on Monday in what was anticipated to be record numbers.
Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport’s two terminals were packed with out-of-towners just hours after the Kansas City Chiefs’ last-minute victory over the Philadelphia Eagles.
Airport officials encouraged travelers to arrive three hours early, advice that seemed to be taken well by folks in town for the Super Bowl and the annual WM Phoenix Open golf tournament.
“Wow. Shoutout Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport. Absolute clinic,” golfer Max Homa said on Twitter.
“They were prepared, had a great game plan and executed. My punishment for doubting [you] guys is I’m now here at my gate far too early.”
Around 180,000 people were forecast to come through Sky Harbor on Monday, which would set a single-day airport record.
When the Super Bowl was in the Valley in 2015, 175,000 people went through Sky Harbor the following day, according to airport spokeswoman Heather Shelbrack.
A typical day sees about 120,000 airport passengers, Shelbrack added.
About 1,500 flight were expected to go in and out of Sky Harbor on Monday.
Extra staff was brought in for preparation for the busy day, Shelbrack said.
“We will have extra volunteers on hand in addition to our navigators easily recognizable in their purple jackets,” Shelbrack said.
“We will, of course, have additional airport staff as well as Super Bowl Host Committee volunteers who will be on site to answer questions.”
KTAR News 92.3 FM’s Jim Cross contributed to this report.
