ATHENS, Greece - On Monday, Athens will experience an exodus likely to surpass the Jews' biblical flight out of Egypt.

Hundreds of thousands of tourists, athletes and members of the media are packing their bags and preparing to depart the city they called home for the past several weeks. Even in the best of cases this is a perfect scenario for chaos, and visitors to Athens are preparing for just that.

“In Sydney we got to the airport two hours early and we didn’t get to check in until 40 minutes after our flight was supposed to leave,” said Amanda Sulivan, 32, from Colorado Springs, Colo. “In Greece, I can’t imagine what it will be like.”

Some estimates put the number of Olympics visitors in Athens as high as one million. Although they will not all be departing at the same time, an unscientific survey of spectators at the Olympics stadium showed that the majority of visitors have tickets out of the capital on Monday and Tuesday.

“I had no choice about when to leave. I have to be in Rotterdam for work on Monday morning,” said Edwin Maarsev, 24, who works for the accounting firm Deloitte and Touche. His flight leaves Athens at 3 a.m. and Maarsev plans to arrive at the airport no later than midnight.

With the highest number of departures and arrivals ever – 878 flights, to be exact – expected for Monday, it’s reasonable to assume that the Athens International Airport will be a mob scene. In July, just as the Olympic influx began, the airport handled 1.5 million passengers, half the number of passengers handled at JFK airport in New York City for the same month.

Rumors of delays and forced bumpings are already spreading around the city.

“I heard that today 40 people were bumped off their flight home,” said one tourist in downtown Athens.

Others, readying themselves for an American-style Thanksgiving travel nightmare times 10, plan to leave for the airport up to six hours in advance. However, they may be stuck waiting in the parking lot for a few hours. Airport officials warn that passengers will not be allowed in the airport more than three hours before their flight is scheduled to depart. 

Other travelers, who were unable to get a ticket out on Monday or Tuesday, were forced to leave for home later in the week. Many plan to take advantage of the few days in Greece and will head to the port of Piraeus for a boat out to the Greek Islands – also guaranteed to be filled with visitors this last week of summer.

“It’s just common sense that everyone is leaving and if you don’t leave a few hours cushion then you risk missing your flight,” said Jake Platt, a taekwando trainer from Seattle, who came with several of his teenage students. “I’m going to get a good book and chill at the airport.”

Postcards from Athens Aug. 29: Athens' Olympic-sized exodus Aug. 28: Athens deserves gold medal Aug. 27: Finding first aid at the Olympics Aug. 26: Athens the day after Aug. 25: Acropolis the heart of Ancient Athens Aug. 24: Games offer chance to minister to all Aug. 23: Pin mania sweeps the Olympics Aug. 22: Hydra a haven from the Games Aug. 21: Tastes of Athens alive in market Aug. 20: Kiosk is the Greek corner shop Aug. 19: Greek-Americans flood Games Aug. 18: When night falls, Athens becomes lively Aug. 17: Lack of greenery unnoticed by fans Aug. 16: The media Olympics? Numbers say so Aug. 15: Athens art: perplexing and provocative Aug. 14: Olympic dustbowl comes to life Aug. 13: Once-in-a-lifetime opportunity Aug. 12: Spirit evident early

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