INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Indianapolis International Airport is preparing to welcome thousands of travelers for race day. Airport officials say this Memorial Day weekend could be the busiest in 12 years.

The busiest time for flights over the holiday weekend is between 4 and 6 a.m. Officials urge passengers with flights during that period to arrive two hours before their flight.

Before the weekend completely kicks off, about 20,000 people will have already flown out of the airport by the end of the day Friday.

Airport officials say an average of about 17,900 people will fly out of Indy every day over the next five days.

The busiest day is expected to be Memorial Day itself, with an estimated 21,600 flying out on Monday.

Officials didn’t indicate how many passengers were expected to fly in this weekend.

Maximillion Cirello flew into Indianapolis from Newport Beach, California, early Friday morning for all the race celebrations. He’s meeting his dad for his first-ever Indianapolis 500.

“I’ve been a racing fan my whole life. My parents are racing fans,” Cirello said. “[I was] just watching all the qualifying and stuff, my dad called me — said ‘Yo, you want to go?’ Now we’re here so I’m stoked. “

He adds that he’s excited to experience a full weekend of sports here in Indy.

“I want to kiss the bricks,” Cirello said. “Other than that, I’m stoked the Pacers are still going…I want to [go to one of the Playoff games]. I like Halliburton. I like him from Sacramento.”

A group of friends from San Jose, California, also flew in for the race. Michel Mendez says they’re using it to kick off a racing-themed road trip.

“This is going to be my first time seeing IndyCars,” Mendez said. “This will be my first official race seeing it in person before we start traveling to go see more rally-inspired cars.”

Airport officials say both TSA checkpoints will open at 3 a.m. this weekend to accommodate the surge in travelers.

Earlier this year, the airport reported that last Memorial Day weekend was the busiest for the airport in 2023.

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