Millions of people are expected to travel by road and by air this Thanksgiving, according to projections from the Transportation Security Administration. The surge could set records for U.S. domestic holiday travel.
For those driving, AAA expects roads will be busiest on Wednesday just ahead of the holiday. Around 55.4 million Americans are expected to drive 50 miles or more as part of their Thanksgiving plans.
The Tuesday and Wednesday ahead of Thanksgiving, as well as the Monday following, are expected to be the busiest days to travel through an airport. On Sunday, TSA expects to check some 2.9 million people through security, which would make it the busiest day on record.
Americans hitting the road for Thanksgiving could see severe weather
Millions of Americans are ready to hit the road for Thanksgiving. But some states could see storms, hail and even tornadoes over the next two days.
Prices for travelers may be lower than last year. The travel site Hopper estimates airfares have dropped about 14% year over year, while the national average price for gas is down 37 cents a gallon since this time last year.
But weather could complicate travel plans. A storm system is expected to move from the Southern plains to the Northeast in the days before Thanksgiving, and could drop up to seven inches of snow in Northeastern states.
U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said Monday the government has staffed up with more air traffic controllers and given airports more money for snowplows and de-icing to keep runways open.
