If you don’t already have your ticket out of Iowa on Jan. 4, you’re probably too late.
 
The Des Moines International Airport sent out an advisory warning travelers that traffic on the two days after the Jan. 3 caucuses will be 50 percent busier and they can expect long lines at security. (An average of 5,600 passengers pass through each day.) 
 
A quick check of Expedia.com and there were no flights on Jan. 4 available from Des Moines to hubs like Chicago’s O’Hare, Dallas/Forth Worth, and Cincinnati. The only seats available that day appeared to be on a United flight to Denver and a Northwest flight to Minneapolis, both at 7 p.m.
 
Jan. 5 looks better with several flights to major hubs available.
 
Oh, and airport officials are expecting some 2,000 rental cars to be returned over the two days.
 
“Many national and international media personnel will be attempting to leave central Iowa. It will take the cooperation of everyone to ensure this happens efficiently and that the nation gets a good picture of the capability of central Iowans,” the advisory said.
 
Don’t worry about the candidates, well most of them anyway. They have chartered their own planes to carry them (and some press) out of Des Moines as soon as the results from the caucuses are tabulated.

– additional reporting by Kay Henderson in Des Moines

– Photo credit: Reuters/Shannon Stapleton