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Thanksgiving air travel is expected to reached record levels this year, as travel demand remains strong despite high inflation weighing on consumer confidence.
Airlines for America – a trade group representing major passenger and cargo airlines including Delta Air Lines (DAL), American Airlines (AAL) and UPS (UPS) – said U.S. airlines expect an all-time high of nearly 30M travelers during the Thanksgiving travel period (Nov. 17-27). This would be a 9% increase Y/Y and up 1.7M passengers over pre-COVID record levels.
The group expects about 2.7M passengers to fly per day over the holiday, up 9% Y/Y, while Nov. 26 is projected to be the busiest day of the holiday period, with a record-setting 3.2M passengers.
The Transportation Security Administration also said this holiday travel season will be its busier ever, expecting to screen 30M passengers from Nov. 17 to Nov. 28. The agency said Nov. 26 will likely be the busiest travel day and expects to screen over 2.9M passengers that day.
The record travel expectations come despite the FAA’s waiver of minimum flight requirements at congested New York airports due to air traffic controller staffing issues.
Roads will also be busy during the travel period. The American Automobile Association expects 55.4M travelers to head 50 miles or more from home over the Thanksgiving holiday period, up 2.3% Y/Y.
“This holiday, we expect more people on the roads, skies, and seas compared to 2022,” said Paula Twidale, senior VP of AAA Travel, adding that travel demand has been strong all year.
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