With the total solar eclipse on the horizon, last-minute travelers are scrambling to find a way into San Antonio, only to find flights booking up fast. The celestial event has sparked a rush on the San Antonio International Airport, as VisitSA's chief marketing officer Andres Munoz noted the city is expected to "double its occupancy" the weekend of the eclipse compared to last year, as per a KENS 5 report.

The grow in tourism for Spring Break 2024 hinted at this upcoming rush, but many would-be spectators might have to miss out on the astronomical spectacle. As one Southwest flyer, Anita Martin lamented to KENS 5, she had to cancel a planned trip for her daughter after failing to book a return flight on April 9th to Washington D.C. "She's not coming to San Antonio for this but we really tried," stated a disappointed Martin.

The squeeze isn't just in San Antonio. The neighboring Austin Airport is bracing for what it describes as "record breaking numbers," as flocks of visitors vie for proximity to the path of totality. A statement from the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport highlighted the expected increase in passengers and rental car returns, urging travelers to arrive 2.5 hours early for domestic flights and 3 hours for international, and even earlier for those navigating the rental car return gauntlet.

Meanwhile, airfares are going through the roof amidst the demand, with round trip tickets on American Airlines costing into the thousands. The University of Texas at San Antonio projects a staggering 720,000 people hunting for a prime viewing spot in Texas along, further fueling the scramble for travel arrangements, according to KENS 5.

San Antonio International Airport has yet to release further details about its plans to handle the influx of eclipse chasers. As for those lucky to have secured a seat to San Antonio, the weekend promises a celestial event that could make every hurdle jumped and every penny spent well worth the experience.