Travel News - Flying Home After Games Can Be a Test

SALT LAKE CITY, Feb. 25 — As if those at the Olympics for the last 17 days had learned of a new event to watch, tens of thousands of people poured into Salt Lake International Airport today to return home.

Airport officials said they were bracing for their busiest day ever, with an estimated 74,000 people scheduled to board flights. As a result, passengers were warned to arrive as much as five hours before the scheduled departures, especially for flights on Delta Air Lines, for which the airport is a hub.

Many heeded the advice, but passengers who gave themselves only four hours were greeted by lines at some terminals that stretched almost a quarter-mile from the curbside check-in points. From there, many passengers then encountered waits of 90 minutes or longer to get through security checkpoints.

http://www.nytimes.com/2002/02/26/national/26UTAH.html

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My wife waited until Tuesday afternoon to leave the Olympic environs. She was first in line at the American Airlines counter and second in line at security. She killed two hours at Starbucks inside security.