Just as your turkey is likely to taste dry, airports and highways are expected to be crowded during Thanksgiving week, and the holiday period ends as a record day for U.S. air travel. There is a high possibility that it will.
From the U.S. Secretary of Transportation to airline chiefs, those responsible for keeping security lines, boarding areas and jetliners in operation vow to prepare for crowds.
But a strike by service workers at Charlotte Douglas International Airport is threatening the Carolina hub.
Airlines passengers may be as lucky as last year, when relatively few flights were canceled during the holiday week. Weather cooperation is required for the re-performance. And even if the skies are blue, a lack of air traffic controllers can cause delays.
Thanksgiving in numbers
Auto club and insurance company AAA predicts that nearly 80 million Americans will venture at least 50 miles from home between Tuesday and next Monday. Most of them travel by car.
Drivers should pay a little less for gas. The national average price for gasoline on Sunday was $3.06 per gallon, 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 period. This would be a 6% increase over the same period last year, but fits the pattern set throughout 2024.
TSA predicts 3 million people will pass through airport security checkpoints on Sunday. If it exceeds that number, it could break the record of 3.01 million people set on the Sunday after the July 4th holiday. Tuesday and Wednesday are the next busiest days for flights during Thanksgiving week.
TSA says it’s ready
“This will be the busiest Thanksgiving ever for air travel,” TSA Administrator David Pekoske said. “Fortunately, our staffing levels are also at an all-time high. We’re ready.”
Pekoske said TSA will have enough screeners to keep general security lines under 30 minutes and lines for those paying the PreCheck surcharge under 10 minutes.
“Strike Giving”
Service workers at Charlotte Douglas International Airport have walked off the job to protest so-called unlivable wages.
Charlotte Douglas International Airport officials say this year’s holiday travel season is expected to be the busiest on record, with an estimated 1.02 million passengers departing the airport between last Thursday and the Monday after Thanksgiving. said.
Hundreds of workers walked off the job, and the work stoppage was expected to continue through Monday.
Delays may occur due to FAA staffing shortages
However, the continuing shortage of air traffic controllers may cause aircraft delays.
Federal Aviation Administration Administrator Mike Whitaker said last week that he expects the agency to take special measures to address air shortages at some facilities. In the past, airports in New York City and Florida have also been targeted.
“When we are short-staffed, we will reduce traffic as necessary to keep the system safe,” Whitaker said.
The FAA has long struggled with a shortage of air traffic controllers, and despite the agency’s lofty hiring goals, airline officials expect the shortage to continue for years to come.
If you want to take your favorite Thanksgiving meal home with you on the plane, but aren’t sure if you should pack it, here are some TSA tips to get you through security.
Holiday travel pattern timing
Thanksgiving will be later this year, falling on the fourth Thursday of November, November 28th. This shortens the traditional shopping season and changes the rhythm of holiday travel.
Andrew Watterson, Southwest Airlines’ chief operating officer, said people tend to spread their outbound trips over multiple days because of the time before the holidays, but everyone returns at the same time.
“If we have a late Thanksgiving, we end up with a big rush. Usually the Saturday, Sunday, Monday and Tuesday after Thanksgiving are very busy with Thanksgiving this late,” Watterson said.
Last year’s mild weather in most parts of the country helped airlines deal with holiday crowds relatively well. Fewer than 400 U.S. flights were canceled during the week of Thanksgiving in 2023, or approximately 1 in 450 flights. So far in 2024, airlines have canceled about 1.3% of all flights.
combine work and leisure
The increase in remote work has also expanded the Thanksgiving travel window, said AAA spokeswoman Aixa Diaz.
“The pandemic changed everything,” she said. “What we’ve seen is that post-pandemic, people will leave at a certain time, maybe the weekend before Thanksgiving, work remotely from their destination for a few days, and then spend time with their loved ones. It’s about having fun.”
The nightmares of Thanksgivings past are compounding holiday traffic jams. Diaz said drivers who learned to avoid traveling the day before and the Sunday after Thanksgiving are creating new bottlenecks on other days.
“We’ve been warning for a long time that Wednesday and Sunday are the worst days to travel, so people were like, ‘Okay, we’re going to leave on Tuesday and come back on Monday to avoid the rush.’ she said. “So, it’s been crowded for the past two days.”
Advice for travelers
Airport security officials are urging passengers to arrive early, avoid carrying lithium-ion batteries in checked baggage as they can overheat, and avoid carrying firearms in carry-on luggage. The TSA has found more than 6,000 guns at checkpoints this year, most of them loaded.
Many people don’t travel for holidays like Thanksgiving and Christmas, and we often get questions about what they can bring on the plane.
The TSA website has a list of prohibited or restricted items.
Drivers should know that Tuesday and Wednesday afternoons will be the worst times to travel by car, but highways should be smooth on Thanksgiving Day, according to traffic analysis firm INRIX. .
The company said the best time for drivers to return home is before 1pm on Sunday and before 8am or after 7pm on Monday.
In metropolitan areas such as Boston, Los Angeles, New York, Seattle and Washington, “traffic volumes are expected to be more than double what they would be on a normal day,” said INRIX transportation analyst Bob Picheux.
Walmart, Target, Costco and many other major retailers will be closed on Thanksgiving.
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