A backup of biblical proportions happened at a St. Louis airport due to a conference by the Seventh-day Adventists.
Organizers of the Seventh-day Adventists’ General Conference, which took place in the city from July 3 through 12, reportedly bussed all of their attendees to the Lambert International airport at the same time on July 13, regardless of when their flights departed. In addition, the length of the conference meant that many attendees had multiple bags to check.
As a result, travelers were stuck in five-hour-long lines that stretched all the way to the highway.
The Transportation Security Administration revealed that 25,917 people went through the airport’s security on July 14 — significantly more passengers than they would see on. The Seventh Day Adventists’ General Conference brought between 30,000 and 50,000 people to the area, so it’s not hard to put two and two together.
A spokesperson for the airport issued a statement to PEOPLE explaining what happened.
“Much of this was due to the large number of delegates going home from the Seventh Day Adventists’ General Conference,” they wrote. “We understand many of the delegates arrived at the airport early for flights scheduled later in the day.”
Lambert International Airport’s director, Rhonda Hamm-Niebruegge, provided more context about why the lines got so awful in a statement to First Alert 4.
“As the convention ended and they just all came out in busloads yesterday morning regardless of what time they were scheduled,” she said — also revealing that many of the travelers didn’t have TSA pre-check.
Speaking to the same publication, traveler Elaine White described the wild scene at the airport when her family was trying to make their flight to Boston (which never happened).
“It was very chaotic… nowhere to sit, no chairs, they were on the floors and people were constantly trying to rebook flights,” she said.
According to a spokesperson for the TSA, July 13 was the busiest day in the Lambert International airport’s history since it began screening fliers.
The Seventh-day Adventists' General Conference is convened every five years and "focuses on decision-making for the global Church." This year's iteration was held at St. Louis' America’s Center Convention Complex.