Holiday travel begins at ATL Airport ATLANTA, GA (WABE) - The holiday travel season has begun and passengers say it started well at Hartsfield Jackson Atlanta International Airport.

WABE's Charles Edwards reports

Earlier today, Gretchen Lyons was walking through the airport atrium. The South Carolina resident drove to Hartsfield-Jackson to catch a flight to Denver. She didn't think she would have this much time on her hands.

LYONS: "It's been surprisingly easy. There was no traffic on the way here and got right in and heading up to wait and read my book and wait for my flight."

Lyons was on her way to a security checkpoint where waits were 10 minutes at the longest. It only took 5 minutes for security to get Eileen Stapelton on her way. However, that doesn't mean her trip here from Chicago was problem free.

STAPELTON: "Well, on my flight there were a lot of babies crying. So, that was kind of annoying but also they're cute and I had an Ipod to drown it out."

Distractions could help as the holiday travel picks up. More than 250 thousand people should pass through the airport today. More than 1.7 million travelers are expected at Hartsfield-Jackson from now to Monday night.

Charles Edwards, WABE News. © Copyright 2012, WABE