Tips to remember before travelling through Edmonton International Airport this holiday season

The Edmonton International Airport (YEG) says it's ready for the upcoming holiday rush. CTV News Edmonton's Gates Guarin reports.

As travelling ramps up for the holiday season, the Edmonton International Airport (YEG) is reminding people what to expect both before and after getting through the security gates.

A press conference on Tuesday by officials with both the airport and Canadian Air Transport Security Authority (CATSA) was designed to help visualize some of the common mistakes travellers might make while getting to and from their destinations.

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“The biggest thing we continue to intercept is oversized liquids,” Rod Gore, the manager of service delivery at CATSA, told CTV News Edmonton. He was at a display table of items that didn’t manage to make it through security – which included liquids, wrapped gifts and even a stuffed sloth filled with weighted gel beads that exceeded the maximum limit.

“Nobody wants to see a child lose their favourite teddy bear … gifts unwrapped is a big one as well, especially electronics, because typically we need to search electronic-type gifts,” he added.

YEG communications manager Erin Isfeld said the airport is expected to see tens of thousands of travellers through terminals each day.

“We know people don’t travel weekly, monthly; sometimes the holiday season is really the only time that they travel and so that does cause a bit of anxiety, it does cause a bit of stress,” she said.

To that end, Isfeld said the best way to take the stress out of holiday flying is to book travel and parking ahead of time while also checking into your flight as soon as possible. She recommends being two hours ahead of schedule for domestic flights and three hours for international flights.

“When you get to your gate, you have some time to just sit back and relax and breathe … we’ll have a lot going on at the airport to keep you entertained as well," she said, noting that Santa Claus and carollers will be coming to visit the airport periodically.

The airport will also be offering complementary gift-wrapping services past security for those shopping across the border who don’t want to show up to their destination with unwrapped items.

Isfeld also noted that Edmontonians should prepare for weather disruptions, although operation and maintenance crews will be out working 24/7 for snow clearing and extreme temperatures, she said.

A holiday travel tip list from YEG also includes what passengers are able to pack during their holiday travels, where they’re able to fly and how to get to and from their destination as smoothly as possible.

With files from CTV News Edmonton’s Gates Guarin