How busy is Buffalo Airport on March Break?

[petsaregreat]

We have never flown out of Buffalo on March Break. Can anyone tell me how busy the Buffalo airport is on the first Saturday? Is it INSANE like Toronto? Any idea how crazy it is to get across the Canadian/USA border to even get there? Thanks!

 

[ParrotBill]

I cannot imagine Buffalo being anywhere close to as crazy as Toronto... but busier than usual, yes. Security lines can bog down so being at the airport 1.5 hours before flight time is important.

Crossing the border can be an unpredictable thing. You can choose either the Lewiston Bridge off 405 of the Peace Bridge at the end of the QEW. But here is how to make it more predictable:

Current delays:
http://apps.cbp.gov/bwt/

Current delays AND historic charts of delay given day of the week.. look through the pull down for the 2 bridges and choose the day of week for your travel.
http://traffic.calit2.net/border/border-crossing-wait-times-map.php

I suggest you give yourself up to 1 hour of border time, and plan time to stop for breakfast or lunch before going the airport... which you can give up if delayed more than expected.

Hope that helps!

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

We flew out of Buffalo on December 23rd (the Sunday before Christmas). We expected it to be horribly busy, but it was very nicely manageable.

I don't think, even at its worst, that Buffalo would be anywhere near as busy as a even a good day at Pearson in Toronto. The airport is so much smaller, getting around is a breeze. Ditto for Syracuse .

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

Oh.....as for the border questions......

When we crossed on December 22nd at the Rainbow Bridge in Niagara Falls, we were through in 7 minutes . Coming home on December 30th, we had an hour's wait just to get to a border guard . So that's a variable you really can't predict.

 

[ParrotBill]

I remember what can mess with Lewiston's time. heading into the US, there are only 2 lanes on 405 leading up to the bridge and barrier.

The trucks are supposed to line up only in the right lane, so cars can get past in the left lane.

But sometimes a truck gets stuck and blocks the left lane, and traffic backs up even though there are open lanes with "no wait" for cars.

I do not know the Peace Bridge as well.

The Rainbow bridge rarely has backups except for prime tourist hours coming home to the US... but it's a little out of the way for the Airport.

 

[iluveeyore]

My daughter and I went a couple of years ago for March Break - we did the first early flight of the day, got to the airport before the desk opened (5am) so no traffic at the border at that hour at all. If you have a later flight and live far enough away (we are only 15 min from the airport), then you could try a park and fly hotel near the airport so you don't need to worry about the border.