Travelers who waited until the last day to make their need to be prepared for busy highways and the most crowded day yet this week at the nation's airports.
The expected to screen 2.9 million people on Wednesday and more than 3 million Sunday, when many holiday revelers plan to .
Air travelers had reason to give thanks 鈥� fewer than 50 U.S. flights had been canceled by midafternoon on the East Coast, according to FlightAware.
However, more than 2,000 flights were running late, reflecting the that is becoming normal at U.S. airlines. They were averaging more than 4,500 late flights per day since last weekend, and Wednesday's count was likely to approach or surpass that number by nightfall.
Wednesday afternoon was expected to be the worst time to travel by car, according to forecasters. Drivers headed out of town will be mixing with commuters unlucky enough to be working on the day before .
Accidents compounded the heavy traffic. A over Interstate 95 in Delaware closed the highway for several hours, according to the Delaware Department of Transportation.
Patience is the key
Sean Spainhower of Morrison, Colorado, was at the Denver airport Tuesday, waiting for his flight east to visit family in Delaware. He advises getting to the airport early, being patient, and not being one of those passengers in a hurry.
鈥淟et them be in a rush. Let them do their thing. You鈥檙e prepared,鈥� Spainhower said. 鈥淵ou鈥檙e ready for people to push and shove and want to get to their flight because they showed up late, but you just need to be relaxed and hang out. You鈥檙e not going to get anywhere faster. The plane is not leaving any earlier.鈥�
Joan Fischer of Montclair, New Jersey, and her husband flew to Chicago to visit grandchildren and were surprised at how easy the trip was.
"We flew out of Newark" 鈥� an airport notorious for delays 鈥� 鈥渁nd you wouldn鈥檛 know it was a holiday,鈥� Fischer said. "It was well run, and it was really not busy.鈥�
Weather is a wild card
An Arctic blast in the Midwest and wet weather in the Eastern U.S. could disrupt travel over .
From Wednesday into early Thursday, mixed precipitation was expected to stretch from northern Arizona through the Plains and upper Midwest into Pennsylvania, New York and parts of New England, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. A chilly, sloppy mix was expected to linger into Saturday in parts of the Northeast.
Forecasters expect clear weather over most of the western two-thirds of the country on Thursday and Friday, but rain and possibly thunderstorms are predicted for the Southeast, which could raise the risk of flight disruptions.
Thanksgiving, by the numbers
Auto club and insurance company AAA predicted that nearly 80 million Americans would venture at least 50 miles from home between Tuesday and next Monday, with most of them will traveling by car.
Drivers should get a slight break on . The nationwide average price for gasoline was $3.07 a gallon on Wednesday, down from $3.25 at this time last year.
Airfares, however, are about 4.1% higher than they were a year ago, according to .
The Transportation Security Administration expected 18.3 million people at U.S. airports during the same seven-day stretch. That would be 6% more than during the corresponding days last year but fit a pattern set throughout 2024.
The TSA expects the biggest crowd on Sunday, which could break the record of 3.01 million set on the Sunday after the July Fourth holiday.
FAA staffing shortage could create delays
TSA Administrator David Pekoske said his agency is ready, with its highest staffing ever, but an ongoing shortage of at the Federal Aviation Administration could cause flight delays.
FAA Administration Administrator Mike Whitaker said last week that his agency likely will use special measures to deal with shortages at some facilities.
鈥淚f we are short on staff, we will slow traffic as needed to keep the system safe,鈥� he said.
In the last two years, similar measures have slowed down flights in .
The FAA has long struggled with a shortage of controllers that airline officials expect will last for years, despite the agency's lofty hiring goals.
Holiday travel myths
While many people believe that flight delays and cancellations are worse during the holidays, the data doesn't bear that out, online travel company Kayak said. Last year, the rate of canceled flights was about five times greater in July and August than it was during Thanksgiving and nearly three times greater than the Christmas period, according to FlightAware data.
鈥淏ut people's tolerance for those delays is significantly worse鈥� during the holidays, Kayak CEO Steve Hafner said.
When airports struggle during the holidays, Hafner said, it's often because they are busy, prone to winter storms, or subject to shortages of FAA air traffic controllers.
鈥淣ew York meets all of those conditions,鈥� he said. 鈥淒on't fly to JFK over the holidays."
Celebrating the holiday overseas
Some Americans are discovering that Thanksgiving can be a relatively inexpensive time to fly overseas.
鈥淎irlines struggle to get people on these international flights, and they are trying to have less losses by offering some fantastic fares,鈥� Katy Nastro of the travel site Going.com said.
International trips over Thanksgiving aren't for everybody.
鈥淚 don't see a lot of young families doing this because Thanksgiving is a very familial holiday, seeing family and friends,鈥� Nastro said. 鈥淚t's single people, couples ... people who work remotely."
Turkey on the plane
TSA says it鈥檚 OK to bring turkey, stuffing and other through airport checkpoints, although liquids such as gravy and cranberry sauce can鈥檛 exceed 3.4 ounces.
Just because you can carry it on the plane doesn鈥檛 mean you should.
鈥淓specially when it comes to gravy, I wouldn鈥檛 want that in my carry-on luggage, and I definitely wouldn鈥檛 want it in my checked baggage,鈥� TSA spokesperson Lorie Dankers said.
Thanksgiving brings out infrequent flyers, and they often have questions about what they can bring on the plane. The TSA app have lists of items that are banned or restricted.
Drive time
Wednesday afternoon was expected to be the worst time to travel by car before , but it will be smooth sailing on highways Thursday, according to transportation analytics company INRIX.
On the return trip, the least-congested times to drive will be before 1 p.m. Sunday and before 8 a.m. or after 7 p.m. Monday, the company said.
In metropolitan areas like Boston, Los Angeles, New York, Seattle and Washington, 鈥渢raffic is expected to be more than double what it typically is on a normal day,鈥� INRIX transportation analyst Bob Pishue said.
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Thomas Peipert in Denver, Melissa Perez Winder in Chicago and Mike Householder in Detroit contributed to this report.
David Koenig, The Associated Press
