DES MOINES, Iowa — During the week of Thanksgiving there are plenty of family reunions going on at the Des Moines International Airport.

Carla Madsen of Des Moines was on hand to welcome her daughter home. Marissa Hull is a flight engineer for Delta Airlines, and is usually on a plane somewhere on every holiday. She is training on the Airbus 330, which is used on international flights.

“She managed to get a day off because she’s in training, the simulator broke down, and she’s going to come home from Atlanta for a couple days,” said Madsen. “We have both our daughters home, one is in Salt Lake City, one is in Texas.”

Melissa Hintz of Bondurant was at the airport to welcome home her daughters from college.

“So, my daughters Claire and Mariana they’ve been in college at BYU, Idaho and they’ve been gone for 2 1/2 months. Mariana was in her freshman year, first semester, and reuniting with her boyfriend and her best friend who haven’t seen her since then,” said Hintz.

“We’re having Thanksgiving for the first time together since 2013,” said Debbie Prince, of Adel. “We got a daughter here from Colorado and California.”

Airport officials are expecting big numbers of travelers to come through the Des Moines airport on Wednesday. There also will be around 12,000 travelers coming home on Saturday and Sunday according to flight projections. 

“We just encourage people to arrive early. Give yourself plenty of time,” said Arah Hoodjer, of the Des Moines International Airport. “The Des Moines airport does pride itself on being a very stress-free and easy airport to get in and out of, but just keep in mind we have a lot of travelers who don’t travel as much, especially during the holidays so that can lead to a wait in your ticket line.”

Latest Iowa News: