Local News in Brief : County : Airport Holiday Crush Fails to Materialize

There were few problems at John Wayne Airport on Sunday, but airport officials say that may not be the case today when many travelers will be returning to Orange County from extended Thanksgiving holiday trips.

For example, rentals at Budget Rent-A-Car’s airport facility barely totaled 50 customers by early Sunday evening. But Budget representative Joy Turcott said Monday car rental reservations are already running close to 175.

“We’ve been a lot slower today (Sunday) than we had expected, but Monday it’s going to be pretty busy around here,” said Bernie Fougnie, an Ogden Allied representative who supervises part of the passenger room operations.

Sunday afternoon, Continental Airlines and Northwest Airlines each had only one delayed flight. All the others showed “On Time” across the electronic message board for both departures and arrivals for all flights.

Unlike many weekends at John Wayne Airport, parking was plentiful, and there was plenty of elbow room inside the cramped terminal.

Shirley Shumway and Tina Isch, both of San Juan Capistrano, were delighted.

Shumway was arriving home from Oakland, and Isch was there to pick her up.

“I found a parking place out front (at a three-hour meter near the terminal),” Isch said. “The plane was early. No problem with baggage. I wish it was like this all the time.”