By Tuan Nguyen and Patrick Hedlund
DNAinfo Staff
PENN STATION — Throngs of holiday travelers hitting the city’s highways, airports and transit hubs got off to a slow start Friday for the annual Christmas weekend exodus — a wait that was only expected to get worse as the day went on.
Lines snaked through Penn Station Friday morning as passengers toted luggage and gift bags on the way to their holiday destinations.
A Port Authority spokeswoman reported no major delays at area airports, tunnels and bridges as of Friday morning, but noted that the increased volume of vacationers would likely slow travel out of the city.
“It’s been super, super busy, but no one got upset yet,” said William Channer, 32, who arrived at Penn Station at 9:30 a.m. for a noontime trip to Buffalo. “It’s the holiday, so this is expected.”
The Port Authority said 11 million travelers will use the area’s airports, tunnels, bridges and PATH trains between Christmas and New Year’s.
Passenger traffic was also expected to be heavy at the Port Authority Bus Terminal, with the agency advising travelers to set aside extra time for their trips.
“I had some traffic when heading from the airport, but basically it’s good,” said student Olivia Harkow, 19, who just returned from Israel and was waiting for a 12:30 p.m. train out of Penn Station to Rhode Island.
“It’s a long trip, and I’m pretty exhausted now.”
The Long Island Railroad will run 14 additional trains between 12:38 p.m. and 3:40 p.m. Friday to accommodate travelers, and the Port Authority will deploy extra staff to help out through New Year's.
Despite the expected delays, travelers remained cool amid the chaos as they set off to visit loved ones.
“It’s a long trip,” said Channer, who was continuing on to Canada from Buffalo to visit his son. “But it’s my son, so I have to do it.”
