SAN ANTONIO – Determined passengers at San Antonio International Airport on Tuesday, many already aware of the CDC warning that Thanksgiving travel will worsen the spread of COVID-19, said they were taking the necessary precautions against the virus.
“I keep hand sanitizer and all that on me, and I keep a mask on all the time,” a man flying to the East Coast told KSAT.
“We cannot stop living our lives. We still have to go out and meet family, but we should be very careful,” a woman who was heading home to Colorado said.
They were among other passengers coming through Terminal A, which wasn’t as crowded as many would expect two days before Thanksgiving.
Jesus Saenz Jr., the city’s aviation director, said the airport is handling only about 40% of the travel it normally would pre-pandemic.
“It’s busy. It’s not as busy as we would like, but it’s busy, and we’ll take it,” Saenz said.
He said San Antonio International Airport would have customarily seen about 49,000 passengers moving through the airport over a three-day period.
“We’re closer to 20,000 passengers,” he said.
Saenz said the airport is doing its part to try to keep everyone as safe as possible.
“It’s a difficult transition. It’s tough for all of us, but we need to do what’s right,” he said.
Saenz said the airport’s website has a detailed description of the protocols that are in place, including requiring face masks, social distancing and plexiglass dividers.
“We have separations throughout the entire airport, whether they’re pre-security or post-security,” Saenz said. “We understand what we’re dealing with, and we want everyone to be safe.”