Airports almost empty day before Thanksgiving BAY AREA The economic meltdown appears to be taking its toll on traveling for the holidays

Six year old Matthew Kuo of Sunnyvale, along with his younger sister Tiffany (not seen) play on the empty seats in the International Terminal at the San Francisco International Airport on a quiet day before Thanksgiving, Wednesday, November 26, 2008. less Six year old Matthew Kuo of Sunnyvale, along with his younger sister Tiffany (not seen) play on the empty seats in the International Terminal at the San Francisco International Airport on a quiet day before ... more Photo: Michael Maloney, The Chronicle Photo: Michael Maloney, The Chronicle Image 1 of / 3 Caption Close Airports almost empty day before Thanksgiving 1 / 3 Back to Gallery

The dreaded Day before Thanksgiving was not so dreadful after all.

Bay Area airports were eerily empty for much of what traditionally has been among the busiest travel days of the year.

Traditions appeared to die a swifter death this year than many a turkey. Travel costs money, something a lot of people don't have right now.

"There's nobody here," said Deborah Vainieri, who was waiting at San Francisco International Airport with her husband, Humberto, for a flight to Portland.

In a plot to beat the crowds, the Vainieris had arrived at the airport four hours early. They walked right up to the check-in machine and were done in less than a minute. Then, at 1:02 p.m., they walked to the main Terminal 3 security line and found themselves all alone.

There was nobody in line ahead of them, not a single person.

"Now what do we do?" said Humberto. "We have four hours to kill."

"We will have a long, leisurely lunch," said Deborah. "Then we'll have coffee. Then we'll talk for a while. After that, we'll think of something."

Baltimore-bound passenger Jason Moran said he had three hours to sit around catching up on his business e-mail on his laptop computer.

"I'm shocked it's not more crowded," he said. "The security line is nonexistent. Where is everybody?"

Business picked up as the afternoon wore on but, even so, most airport regulars said the building seemed emptier than Carlsbad Caverns.

"This is eerie," said guitarist Craig Ventresco, an airport artist-in-residence who was flat-picking "Ain't She Sweet" for a crowd of one person on a landing near the door to the parking lot. "If this is a sign of the times, it's frightening."

Ventresco, whose fingers were flying faster than most planes, said the plummeting economy was making ordinary people as broke as musicians.

"That's not good," he added, with a grim smile.

In the airport information booth, volunteer Doris Homer said people apparently were deciding to stay home this year. In general, deciding to stay home tends to have a negative impact on the travel industry.

"See for yourself," she said. "Look around. It's nowhere near as busy. People are out of work and saving their money."

At the Oakland airport, the parking lot was nowhere near full and the terminals were pleasantly roomy.

"There are lines, but nothing like they've been," said an airport duty manager. "You used to see the parking lot completely packed. Not today."

And at Mineta San Jose International Airport, spokesman David Vossbrink said it was "fairly quiet at times" with no reports of crowds, problems or delays. The parking lot, he said, had "plenty of room."

As at many airports, the airlines have cut flights at San Jose International, which has led to less crowding in the terminals.

It was the same story at airports across the country.

In Miami, San Francisco resident Sharon McKellar called the international airport there "shockingly quiet" after flying in to visit family.

In Boston, passenger Alicia Kelly said Wednesday was the lightest Thanksgiving travel day she'd ever seen.

"We have waited in no lines so far," she said.

There were no significant flight delays at any major U.S. airport, according to a Federal Aviation Administration Web site.

In San Francisco, the new airport industry of selling shorter lines to the highest bidder seemed to be falling flat.

One such system, the Fly Clear security line, enables anyone with a $199 membership card to bypass the ordinary screening line and zip to the front. But since there wasn't an ordinary line, it was tough to sell new membership cards.

"When there's a line, this is a great deal for business travelers," Tony Wightman said. "And when the economy comes back, the long lines will come back, too."