Busy Thanksgiving travel rush wraps up

SAN FRANCISCO – One of the busiest travel days of the holiday weekend wrapped up Sunday, as many people returned home from their Thanksgiving getaways.

It was a scene of controlled chaos at San Francisco International Airport Sunday morning, as security lines stretched several yards.  

“The line is already all the way out through the door, there are people everywhere, it is quite the scene here at SFO. If you have a flight, highly recommend you get here at least a couple hours early, the lines are humongous,” said Trey Lauderdale, who was helping his parents make their flights home. 

“It was awful, I’ve never seen it this bad, it took forever, getting off 101 and the traffic here was stop and go,” said Richard Ressman of Cupertino. “I could have walked much faster.”

TSA expected to screen about 3 million people on Sunday, the biggest crowd of the holiday weekend, when many travelers return home.

“It’s definitely a lot of traffic coming in right now, it’s definitely making sure you’re in your right lanes to know where you’re going,” said Stephan Negherbon of Martinez. 

SFO only reported a handful of delays and cancelations on Sunday.

Across the Bay at Oakland International Airport, check-in and security lines moved steadily. Passengers flowed through at a reasonable pace.

The Fishers chose to fly out of the East Bay to Seattle to avoid crowds.

“I think pretty smooth, surprisingly, so it seems like other travelers have spread out their travel times, so that seems to have helped,” said Christine Fisher.

This year, drivers paid less at the pump compared to last Thanksgiving. AAA predicted record travel on the roads this holiday weekend. The roads are expected to be less congested Sunday night. For those coming back home on Monday, expect a mix of commuters and travelers.