Record Thanksgiving Travel Expected As Holiday Nears

As Thanksgiving approaches, a record number of travelers are expected to take to the skies and roads this holiday season.

The TSA predicts the busiest travel days will be the Tuesday and Wednesday before Thanksgiving, as well as the Sunday after.

At Will Rogers World Airport in Oklahoma City, officials are implementing measures to ease the travel experience, including a new option to pay for parking via smartphone. Cash payments remain available for those exiting the parking facility.

Nationally, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg highlighted steps the Biden-Harris Administration has taken to prepare for the holiday surge.

“While there are of course some factors that affect travel, especially the weather, that are truly out of anybody's control, we can take and have taken a number of steps to make travel better — the efficiency of flights themselves, the facilities at the airport that you use before and after you’re on board, and of course the new expansive passenger protections that we have secured in the event your travel is disrupted,” Buttigieg said.

For those hitting the roads, AAA projects nearly 72 million Americans will drive 50 miles or more this Thanksgiving. This figure sets a record high, surpassing both last year and pre-pandemic levels.