MSP officials: MEA weekend means packed airport, so come early

With Minnesota schools closing early this week, Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport officials expect a crowded airport and are urging people to get to the airport earlier than usual to catch their flights.

As many as 20,000 extra fliers a day could be at the airport because students are off Thursday and Friday as schools close for MEA weekend, the conference run by Education Minnesota, the state teachers union.

Fliers should get to the airport about 90 minutes before domestic flights are scheduled to leave, airport spokesperson Patrick Hogan said.

"The Education Minnesota conference is an opportunity for families in Minnesota, because kids are out of school, to get one last ditch vacation before the weather turns. This tends to be one of the busiest weeks we have at the airport," Hogan said. "You still have a lot of business travelers flying because this is not a holiday and on top of that you have all these families flying out for their vacations."