Thanksgiving travel: what you need to know

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (KCRG) – Wednesday officially kicks off the Thanksgiving travel period, it is expected to be the busiest travel day for the holiday.

With 80 million people traveling over the next five days, the vast majority of them be will driving. According to AAA, the worst, or busiest, times to drive Wednesday are 1 through 5 p.m. To beat that traffic, drivers will need to hit the road before 10 a.m.

Thanksgiving day, the traffic impact is expected to be minimal.

Also according to AAA, on average, Iowa’s gas prices are among the cheapest in the country, at about $2.74 per gallon.

The Eastern Iowa Airport says roughly 3,000 people will be flying Wednesday. On the average Wednesday, the airport sees about 2,000 passengers. All told, AAA predicts 5.8 million people to fly over the travel period.

Eastern Iowa Airport urge flyers to arrive about 90 minutes to two hours before their flight. That should give flyers ample time to check their bags and get through security.

”Everybody’s working very hard to get you to your destination,” Pam Hinman with the Eastern Iowa Airport, said. “A little kindness goes a long way.”

The airport has also added 420 spots to long-term parking lot and about 160 to the short-term lot to accommodate more travelers. People are asked to use the Cell Phone lot if they’re picking anybody up from the airport.

The airport recommends to download their airline’s app on their mobile phone for the latest information and live notifications about their flight.

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