Just as there are good odds the turkey will taste dry, airports and highways are expected to be jam-packed during Thanksgiving week, a holiday period likely to end in another record day for air travel in the United States. The people responsible for keeping security lines, boarding areas, and jetliners moving – from the U.S. transportation secretary and airline chiefs on down the line – swear they are prepared for the crowds.
Airline passengers might get lucky like they did last year, when relatively few flights were canceled during the holiday week. A repeat will require the weather’s cooperation. And even if skies are blue, a shortage of air traffic controllers could create delays.
According to AAA, nearly 80 million Americans will venture at least 50 miles from home between Tuesday and next Monday, with most traveling by car. Drivers should get a slight break on gas prices, as the nationwide average price for gasoline was $3.06 a gallon on Sunday, down from $3.27 at this time last year.
The Transportation Security Administration expects to screen 18.3 million people at U.S. airports during the same seven-day stretch, 6% more than during the corresponding days last year. Tuesday and Wednesday are expected to be the next-busiest air travel days of Thanksgiving week.
TSA Administrator David Pekoske said, “This will be the busiest Thanksgiving ever in terms of air travel… We are ready.” Pekoske said TSA will have enough screeners to keep general security lines under 30 minutes and lines for people who pay extra for PreCheck under 10 minutes.
However, a strike by service workers at Charlotte Douglas International Airport threatens a hub in the Carolinas, and a shortage of air traffic controllers could create delays. According to the Federal Aviation Administration, the agency expects to use special measures to deal with shortages at some facilities.
The timing of the holiday affects travel patterns, with people tending to spread out their outbound travel over more days but returning at the same time. Airlines did a relatively good job of handling holiday crowds last year, when the weather was mild in most of the country. Fewer than 400 U.S. flights were canceled during Thanksgiving week in 2023 – about one of every 450 flights.
The rise of remote work has also changed the way people travel, with more flexibility to work from their destinations. AAA spokesperson Aixa Diaz said, “The pandemic changed everything… We have seen that post-pandemic, people are leaving at certain times, perhaps even leaving the weekend before Thanksgiving, working remotely from their destination a couple of days, and then enjoying time with their loved ones.”