By Emily Hagedorn
Enquirer contributor

HEBRON - No long lines at security checkpoints or ticket aisles inside. No traffic jams in the parking lot outside.

On Tuesday, a major holiday travel day, Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport was barely busier than any other day, frequent fliers said.

"Comair is not experiencing any delays today," spokesman Nick Miller said Tuesday. "The airline is operating smoothly."

Lines at the Delta Air Lines check-in rarely exceeded five people. The longest wait Tuesday afternoon at Terminal 3's security checkpoint: eight minutes. "It's running extremely smooth," said Ted Bushelman, spokesman for the airport.

Many travelers took into account the airport safety regulations before coming to the airport, which helped ease the holiday rush, he said.

"We've seen a big increase in people taking metal off of themselves before going through security and putting it in their carry-on bags," Bushelman said. "They're making extra efforts to go with the flow."

And due to the orange terror alert - a "high" risk of attack - many said they arrived at the airport extra early.

"I expected long lines. I thought it would be busy," said Hollie Nelsen of Springboro, who got to the airport 21/2 hours early, only to sit and wait for her flight.

The Transportation Security Administration has been touting much faster lines at airports across the country. Just last week, it reported that the longest wait at Cincinnati's airport during Thanksgiving was 18 minutes, compared with 52 minutes a year earlier

That improvement was credited to three additional security screening lanes at the Terminal 3 checkpoint, at the airport's expense.

On Saturday, though, screeners were swamped in the morning when 1,000 more passengers than expected - 300 of them stranded overnight by snowstorms - showed up at the Terminal 3 checkpoint, which screens Delta passengers. The situation deteriorated quickly when 10 Terminal 3 screeners called in sick with the flu.

However, waits this week have been minimal. That's partly because of the additional screening lanes and also because the number of Christmas travelers is spread out over more days than during Thanksgiving, which is traditionally the busiest air travel weekend of the year.