Millions of Americans are preparing to hit the highways and airports as Thanksgiving approaches, with some airlines predicting it will be their busiest day ever.
Here’s what you need to know:
Thanksgiving trip by plane
AAA predicts that 4.7 million travelers will fly over Thanksgiving, a 6.6% increase from last year. This will be the most people flying over Thanksgiving since 2005.
According to AAA, the busiest and most expensive days to book flights before Thanksgiving will be Tuesday, November 21st and Wednesday, November 22nd.
According to Expedia, the best day to get to the airport on Thanksgiving is Monday, November 20th, when airfares will be 12% cheaper than on November 22nd.
AAA predicts 4.7 million travelers will fly over Thanksgiving
ABC News Photo Illustration, Expedia, AAA
The Transportation Security Administration said it plans to screen 30 million passengers during the Thanksgiving travel period, Nov. 17-28.
“We expect this holiday season to be our busiest yet, with 2023 already seeing seven of the top 10 busiest travel days in TSA history,” TSA Administrator David Pekoski said in a statement. “We are prepared to handle the anticipated volume and are working closely with our airline and airport partners to prepare for this busy holiday travel season. We will also do our best to maintain wait time standards of less than 10 minutes for TSA PreCheck® lanes and less than 30 minutes for standard screening lanes.”
The most popular domestic destinations for Thanksgiving this year are New York, Los Angeles and Orlando, Fla., while London, Tokyo and Paris are the most popular international destinations, according to Hopper.
Hopper said the cheapest days to return home would be Friday, Nov. 24 or Monday, Nov. 27.
United Airlines said it expects more than 5.9 million passengers to fly this Thanksgiving, a 13 percent increase from last year and a record high.
United Airlines is anticipating Sunday, November 26, to be one of its busiest days since before the pandemic, with more than 517,000 passengers expected to board the plane.
United Airlines said remote work has extended holiday travel, and while demand for flights on the Monday before Thanksgiving is nearly 10% higher than in 2019, demand for flights on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving is only 3% higher, the company said.
American Airlines said it expects passenger numbers to reach a record high of 7.8 million over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend.
American Airlines said Sunday, November 26th and Monday, November 27th will be its busiest days.
“I think the best advice we can give is to ask everyone to arrive early for their flight,” said John Bush, TSA’s federal security director at Reagan National Airport near Washington, D.C. “The recommendation is always two hours early for domestic flights and three hours early for international flights.”
Thanksgiving Overland Trip
AAA predicts that 55.4 million people will drive more than 50 miles from home for Thanksgiving.
ABC News Photo Illustrations, AAA, INRIX
AAA predicts that 55.4 million people will drive more than 50 miles from home for Thanksgiving, up 2.3 percent from last year and the third-highest Thanksgiving forecast since AAA began tracking holiday travel in 2000.
According to traffic analytics firm INRIX, the busiest day on the roads is expected to be Wednesday, November 22. INRIX said drivers should leave home in the morning or after 6pm to avoid the busiest traffic.
Traffic is expected to be at its worst between 3pm and 5pm on Sunday, November 26. INRIX says the best time to hit the roads is before noon.
