Travel experts say the busiest travel days are always the Wednesday before Thanksgiving and the Sunday after. If you want to reduce a bit of the hectic holiday travel, flying on the holiday itself is generally the “least” busy.
“There are estimates that there will be 4.5 million people flying during that time frame and out of local airport they are expecting 75-thousand travelers. So that’s a lot busier than normal.”
That’s Joanne Verboom, President of Travel by Gagnon. She says many people are flying for the first time since the pandemic and airports will likely be packed… adding travelers may want to pack a little patience while they travel.
“There will be flight delays, might be weather issues; many families are traveling and so it will take longer to get through TSA than a normal timeframe would.”
Verboom says to lessen the headache, give yourself extra time. Get to the airport early, at least an hour and a-half; print your boarding passes and sure you stay on top of any notifications sent by the airline.
“Because airlines routinely have schedule changes and sometimes those schedule changes are major; they’re not just a few minutes difference,they might be six hours difference.”
Verboom adds a safety note to hopefully ensure all is well upon your return. She advises travelers not to advertise the fact they’re not at home by posting vacation photos on social media. Instead, text individually or better yet, she says, wait until you get home.
