Travel this Thanksgiving holiday season will near pre-pandemic levels, so it’s important for travelers to plan ahead.
Families are preparing to travel to see loved ones for this holiday season in what is being predicted as the third busiest year for Thanksgiving travel since travel began being monitored in 2000.
The American Auto Association (AAA) predicts that around 54.6 million people will travel a distance of 50 miles or greater this Thanksgiving. This marks a 1.5 percent increase over last year and returns us to 98 percent of pre-pandemic travel volumes.
Paula Twidale, AAA’s Senior Vice President of Travel, encourages all travelers to plan ahead and “pack their patience” to avoid issues and accidents as best as possible.
Similarly to last Thanksgiving, most travelers will opt to avoid the airport by driving to their destinations. Close to 49 million people are expected to travel by car. Although this sounds extreme and is 0.4 percent higher than in 2021, car travel is still suffering following the pandemic with this year’s number remaining 2.5 percent lower than 2019 levels.
Air travel, however, has almost returned to pre-pandemic levels entirely. Up nearly 8% from last year, 4.5 million Americans will take to the sky to reach their Thanksgiving destinations this year. This marks an increase of more than 330,000 travelers and reaches nearly 99% of pre-pandemic volumes. Thanksgiving is definitely not the time to procrastinate as airports will be extremely busy. Twidale suggests reserving a parking spot ahead of time and arriving early. Anticipating long TSA lines and avoiding checking a bag if possible will also help make travel smoother.
Americans are also opting for alternative modes of transportation with more than 1.4 million travelers utilizing the options to travel by bus, train, or cruise ship. As travel restrictions have lifted, travelers are more comfortable using public transportation options once again. This marks a 23 percent increase from 2021 and pushes the nation to 96 percent of pre-pandemic numbers.
The Sunday after Thanksgiving is predicted to be the busiest travel day, followed by Thanksgiving Eve. However you’re choosing to travel this year, make sure you plan for large crowds and stay vigilant!