Thanksgiving is a significant celebration around the world. This day is solely dedicated to a harvest feast, seeking blessings, and meeting with loved ones. But traveling during Thanksgiving week is like navigating the busy and crowded Airports. Since this season is to enjoy, how would one travel to and fro in such an overpacked environment? Alright, a significant hurdle for the passengers is to make their way during the busiest travel days around Thanksgiving. So, are you also confused about how to travel during this peak time? If yes! Then, read this comprehension and acknowledge how you can manage everything effectively. Here it goes!
An Overview of Thanksgiving Travel Days
Thanksgiving week attracts significant airport crowds, yet it can be a brutal time to embark on a journey. You might be surprised to know that, to date, the total number of passengers who have already been screened at the Airports is twice the last time. The Sunday after Thanksgiving is mainly very busy all around the year. The travel experts have assumed that the 2024 Thanksgiving season would break all the previous passenger records.
The travelers who fly would have to head about 50 Miles or more from their destination over the Thanksgiving holiday travel period. Hence, this is an increase of 1.7 Million passengers from the past year’s Thanksgiving, with an increment of 2 Million travelers from 2019. However, a few days of the Thanksgiving week are mainly overcrowded at the Airports. But with adequate planning and flexible scheduling, you can save money and avoid the mess.
Fly Around Thanksgiving: The Excellent & Terrible Days
The Transportation Security Administration makes various travel claims that keep track of the number of passengers screened daily at Airport checkpoints. During Thanksgiving week, Thursday to Thursday, and Sundays are the most occupied days to fly. Meanwhile, Thanksgiving day is the least crowded time for passengers.
Here is a breakdown of the secluded days to embark on a journey before and after this season. Since these are less crowded and likely limited expensive, these can be the best days to fly around this season.
| Pre-holiday: | Post-holiday: |
| Saturday (Uncrowded) | Wednesday (Uncrowded) |
| Monday | Tuesday |
| Thursday |
Why is it dreadful to fly on the Sunday after Thanksgiving?
If you are thinking of flying on Sunday after the Thanksgiving season, then this can be a terrible decision for you. This day is the busiest and can be worst for your air travel. According to TSA data, Sunday was the busiest day during 2021, 2022, and 2023 compared to the other days. In fact, in 2023, 2.9 Million+ passengers were reported to cross through the Airport screening points only on the Sunday after Thanksgiving.
How about driving during Thanksgiving?
A long confusion between driving and flying comes with all sorts of facets behind the time and convenience. This could be how long you will have to drive, the charges, and the cost of checking bags. You will be astounded to hear that there will be more rush this season on the roads compared to the last Thanksgiving. The studies have shown that more than 71.7 Million people would travel by road over Thanksgiving, 1.3 Million more than the previous year’s data. Hence, traveling through the flights would be a convenient and better option for you this Thanksgiving.
Tips to Plan an Affordable Thanksgiving Travel Itinerary
So, you had been working around the whole week, straight from Monday to Friday. Now it’s your two-day week- off, and flying home on Friday would make sense. Many passengers follow this timeline to avoid additional time off. However, these itineraries can be expensive for you because these are the busiest days to fly. But how can you save money while choosing a better Thanksgiving travel itinerary to maximize your money? Rather than traveling on Sunday, you should try the following tips:
- Choose to Fly on Black Friday
The best day to travel is during the weekend, so you should fly on Black Friday. This day is the third-least crowded day to fly on average. You can look at this as a genuine way to avoid airport and retail crowds.
- Fly on Thanksgiving
The travel- days around the Thanksgiving week can be very tedious, but Thanksgiving day would be perfect. This day has reflected upon the minimal traffic- every day and all the travel experts agree with the same. Thus, consider booking a flight for the same day and avoid rush, while saving some money.
- Plan a Longer Trip
Above all, the best way is to extend your trip. Yes, this would work magically! After Thanksgiving, on average, the airport is least busy to travel post-holiday, compared to the other days. If you are into a remote job, then you must be able to avoid all the traveling vacation days rather than a prolonged trip.
Final Words
Thus, this was all about how you can manage yourself through the busiest travel days around Thanksgiving. You can make your travel effort-free by traveling around the schedule with a limited crowd. Additionally, it would be great if you avoided your journey on the Wednesday before and the Sunday following Thanksgiving. Hence, minimize your stress with effective planning.
Commonly Asked Question
Orlando, Miami, Fort Lauderdale, New York, Anaheim/Los Angeles, Tampa, Honolulu, and San Francisco are the most traveled destinations during Thanksgiving.
While traveling during the week of Thanksgiving, you should fly somewhere on Black Friday, which is the least crowded day on average. This would be the best decision to avoid airport crowds.
Tuesdays and Wednesday afternoons are typically the worst and busiest times to travel around the Thanksgiving week.
According to reports, around 71.7 million passengers traveled over the Thanksgiving holidays. Meanwhile, around 5.84 million passengers flew domestically.
Yes, the TSA authorities have claimed to screen a record 18.3 Million passengers over the upcoming seven days. At the same time, Tuesday and Wednesday are the busiest days of the week.
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