Record numbers projected for Thanksgiving travel

If a road trip is part of your plans this week, expect a lot of company out on the highway and in the air, as record numbers are projected to be traveling this Thanksgiving.

Figures from AAA project nearly 80 million motorists will travel 50 miles or more from home during the Thanksgiving holiday travel period.

“(We’re projecting) a new record,” said Jim Garrity, director of public affairs for AAA.

This is the first time AAA’s forecast includes the Tuesday before and the Monday after Thanksgiving Day to better capture the flow of holiday travelers.

This year’s projection shows an increase of 1.7 million people compared to 2023 and 2 million more than the pre-pandemic year of 2019.

Garrity said the continuing uptick in the numbers is a result of more and more people being confident to travel each post-pandemic year. The car is expected to be the primary mode of transportation for the holiday week, as AAA projects a record 71.7 million people traveling via the roadways, an additional 1.3 million compared to last year.

“It’s a continuation of the excitement for people to get out,” Garrity said. “A lot of people are probably ready to see people they haven’t seen in a couple of years. Also, you do have gas prices that are relatively stable, a little bit cheaper than this time last year.”

On Monday, the average price for a gallon of regular unleaded gas in Pennsylvania was $3.244, compared to $3.565 in 2022. In the Pittsburgh area, the average price was $3.298. In 2022, the price was $3.642.

The weather will be conducive for getting out as well, with some precipitation expected but little to no snow accumulation.

David Shallenberger, lead meteorologist at the National Weather Service, said the biggest impact will be in Western Pennsylvania’s higher terrain and along Interstate 80 in Forest and Venango counties, where there is a chance of about an inch of snow.

“Through the week we should have enough warm weather that we shouldn’t have any problem (today) with this next system coming in,” he said. “Then, we have the one coming on Wednesday that will impact travel right before the holiday. We’re not really keying in on too much accumulation just yet. In the lower elevations, (the precipitation) should just be rain. There doesn’t look like there’s going to be a lot of accumulation at this time.”

Shallenberger said to expect very cold temperatures for the coming weekend with highs barely climbing above 20 degrees.

“Saturday looks like some of the coldest temperatures we’ve seen so far,” he said.

Thanksgiving air travel is also expected to set a new record. AAA projects 5.84 million people will fly domestically this year, an increase of 2% compared to last year and nearly 11% in 2019. International flight bookings are up 23% from last year, in part because the cost to fly internationally is down 5%.

Carl Brandtonies, owner of Worldview Travel in Washington, said people are continuing to make travel plans, specifically to places like Europe and the Caribbean.

“People are still looking to go,” he said.

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is projected to screen 18.3 million people through Monday, Dec. 2. That represents a volume increase of about 6% from 2023. Passenger volumes have reached record highs, with an increase of 17% since 2022.

Today and tomorrow, as well as Sunday, are expected to be the busiest days, with about 3 million people expected to be traveling each day.

“As we approach Thanksgiving, TSA is ready to accommodate record passenger volumes,” said David Pekoske, TSA administrator. “The 10 busiest travel days in TSA’s history have all occurred in 2024, and we anticipate that trend to continue. Working alongside our airport and airline partners and the FAA (Federal Aviation Administration), we have organized staffing and will do our best to maintain our wait time standards.”

Cruises are also up this Thanksgiving season. Domestic and international cruise bookings increased 20% compared to last year.

“It’s more popular than I think a lot of people realize,” Garrity said. “I’ve known people who’ve done Thanksgiving cruises to try out a new tradition and they kind of liked it. Someone is taking care of the cooking for you and you can’t beat the view.”

Garrity expects the travel trend to continue through the Christmas season.

“This whole year has been a strong year for travel,” he said. “When we look at the major holidays. When we look at our travel agency and the amount of people we’ve been sending out and about and helping them realize their vacation plans, it’s been a very strong year for travel.”

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