AAA: 53.4 Million People Expected to Travel on Thanksgiving Holiday

AAA predicts that 53.4 million people will travel during Thanksgiving holiday this year. That’s 13% higher than last year and just below 5% compared to 2019 Thanksgiving numbers. The AAA urges travelers to be proactive when it comes to planning their trips.

Also, air travel is expected to be up by a whopping 80% from last year. An estimated 4.2 million air travelers are expected this year.

Diana Gugliotta, senior manager of public affairs for AAA Northeast said that “Because of the vaccines, families have a lot more confidence in making plans to get together”. She added that “They’re craving human contact. They want to reunite with family and friends”.

Air Travel Issues

Southwest and American Airlines had operational problems in recent weeks. With staffing shortages and an uptick in international travel, some travelers are concerned that things can get chaotic.

Willis Orlando, the senior product operations specialist for Scott’s Cheap Flights, said that “Even before the pandemic, reports of major delays, cancellations, and stranded passengers were somewhat of a holiday tradition”. However, he said that airlines are doing their best to avoid potential issues. American Airlines, for example, announced that it is increasing its flight attendants’ holiday pay.

Orlando added that ”While it’s certainly not out of the question, we’d be surprised to see the kind of major failures among non-budget US airlines that we’ve seen over the last few months heading into the holidays”.

Gugliotta suggests that travelers get to the airport early. You’d want to be at least two hours early if you’re traveling domestic and three hours for international.

AAA Predicts 48.3 Million People Are Driving

Even if air travel is up, people are still going to drive. AAA expects around 48.3 million people to drive. AAA spokesperson Andrew Gross said that “If you leave Wednesday afternoon before Thanksgiving and you live near a big metropolitan, you’re going to be sitting in that old-fashioned traffic again”