NEW YORK — It's a record health officials didn’t want to break: the most people flying across the country since the coronavirus pandemic began, despite warnings against it.

"I think as long as you’re safe and know what you’re doing and don’t do anything too crazy, you should be ok," a traveler at LaGuardia Airport told NY1 on Thursday morning.


What You Need To Know

  • The Port Authority says holiday travel at its three major airports is down 79% compared to last year

  • At LaGuardia's Terminal B on Christmas Eve, there were no crowds

  • But the TSA reports that on Wednesday, it screened 1.2M passengers nationwide, the most since mid-March

The Port Authority says holiday travel at its three major airports is down 79% compared to last year.

At LaGuardia's Terminal B on Christmas Eve, that falloff was obvious: there were no crowds.

But the Transportation Security Administration reports that on Wednesday, it screened 1.2 million passengers nationwide, the most since mid-March.
 


Health officials highly recommend against traveling, and Mayor Bill de Blasio is urging New Yorkers to cancel their plans if possible.

One Brooklyn family say they know about the warnings, but are flying to North Carolina because there is a new baby in the family.

"Washing hands, wearing masks, once we get down there we got to pretty much put on hazmat suits to go anywhere near the baby," said Antoine Adams.

"Gloves, everything," added Sherifa Adams.

As for their thoughts on the warnings?

"If you can try not to, you should absolutely, because I believe traveling is definitely not the best thing to do during the pandemic," said Antoine. "Again, this is one of the times that we actually have to and the only reason why we would. Definitely take any safety precaution necessary if you are going to travel."

Across Queens, at JFK Airport, due to a new, highly contagious, strain of coronavirus in Britain, three major airlines that fly from the United Kingdom now require a negative COVID-19 test to come to New York. Gov. Andrew Cuomo says U.K. travelers will face a $1,000 fine a day if they don’t honor a requirement to quarantine when they arrive.

The mayor said the city will even check on visitors at hotels to make sure they follow the rules. Domestic travelers also must follow safety guidelines when they return to the city, and most said they plan to.

“When we come back, we’ll quarantine and take the test then," Sherifa said.

It is the law.

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