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Indianapolis airport busy following Taylor Swift concert weekend

Thousands of Swifties flying home Monday

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) – As Taylor Swift’s takeover of central Indiana wraps up, thousands of people are hopping on flights out of the Indianapolis International Airport.

Airport authorities project about 21,000 people will fly out on Monday. The busiest window was between 5 a.m. and 6 a.m.

One Swiftie, Kelsey Brubaker, is originally from Indiana and used the weekend to visit some of her favorite spots throughout Indy and Bloomington.

She flew back to Tulsa early Monday morning.

“Definitely a once of a lifetime experience,” Brubaker said. “We sat in a suite Friday night, and it was amazing. I mean, I’ve heard the hype of it, and it definitely lived up to everything that they were describing.”

Another group of Taylor Swift fans flew in from across the country Sunday to see the third night of the Eras Tour.

Sarah Campbell says she and her friends were blown away by the welcome Indianapolis gave them.

“It was absolutely incredible,” Campbell said. “We had the best day ever, even just getting ready at the hotel room, going to see all this swiftie stuff downtown, hanging out in the stadium, waiting for merch, and then the concert was phenomenal — start to finish.”

“Like, you look at the stadium, and I was like, imagine, was like, imagine selling this out three times and having, like, tons more people, like, the influence, the impact that she has, the positivity that she has, especially on young girls, I think, is amazing.”

A pair of friends flying home to Austin, Texas, Tara Reina and Alex Watson went to night two on Saturday.

Watson says they took some time to explore the city on Sunday.

“I’ve seen other cities kind of do things, but nobody had the( J.W.) Marriot (Taylor Swift decal),” Watson said. “There were so many photo ops, the friendship bracelets. Everyone was so friendly and into it.”

Reina says seeing all the Swifties in one place was surreal.

“You look at the stadium, and I was like, imagine … imagine selling this out three times,” Reina said. “The influence, the impact that she has, the positivity that she has, especially on young girls, I think, is amazing.”

Taylor Swift weekend will certainly cap off a major travel year for the airport.

In August, Indianapolis International Airport officials announced five of the top ten busiest days happened in the first half of 2024 due in large part to the NBA All-Star Game, the Indianapolis 500 and the Olympic Swim Trials.

Monday is nearing one of the historically busiest days of the year, Memorial Day. This year, nearly 22,000 people flew out the day after the Indy 500.

Including air travel, Visit Indy estimates 200,000 people came to the Circle City for the Eras Tour.