Approximately 80 million Americans will travel during Thanksgiving weekend, which is reportedly the busiest travel time thus far. According to AAA, this holiday’s travelers will be the most ever recorded—the most significant volume increase over last year.

Holiday Travel: the Busiest Ever As Millions of Americans Take to the Skies and Roads

America is expecting a massive swell of air travel during Thanksgiving. The 2024 Thanksgiving holiday travel period runs from November 26 to December 2. American Airlines said it would move some 8.3 million passengers between November 21 and December 3, 500,000 more travelers than for the same period last year. Delta Air Lines also anticipated moving a record number of passengers during 12 days: 6.5 million, up 5 % from 2023.

United Airlines expects significant growth, doubling its passenger volumes by over 20% compared to 2023 following Thanksgiving. 6.2 million will travel on this carrier over 13 days. The most traveled for it so far. Southwest and American Airlines say the busiest Day for return flights is Sunday, December 1, since most head home right after Thanksgiving.

Airfares: Traveler prices increased, but not as fast as they did last year. Compared with 2023, average tickets sold in-state were 9% higher, at an average of $273. Airfare is up once again, but more so from 2022 and even from pre-pandemic. AAA projected 23% more bookings for the Thanksgiving holiday than last year. Tickets are 5% cheaper on average.

More Road Trips Expected at Lower Gas Prices

The highways will likely bear the brunt of Thanksgiving travelers; AAA projects a record 71.7 million to take the roads, up by 1.3 million compared to the previous year. Lower fuel prices at least contribute partly to the increase, as national averages might fall below $3 per gallon for the first time since 2021 due to lower oil prices.

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Alternative Travel Modes See a Boost

Air and car travel will still dominate the scene this Thanksgiving, but other modes of transportation are seeing a huge spike. Around 2.3 million travelers will take buses, trains, or cruises, up 9% from 2023 and 18% from 2019. The interest in cruises is also noteworthy; domestic and international bookings are up 20% more than last year’s Thanksgiving season.

Rail travel, too, is up. Amtrak projects record numbers. According to a release in 2023, Amtrak transported more than 1 million passengers from November 18 to November 26, and more people are expected this year.

Thanksgiving travel in the United States is on the rise. Americans are returning to standard movement patterns as they look forward to reconnecting with loved ones during the holiday season. The 2024 season will establish multiple new benchmarks across all travel sectors since it will represent the industry’s most significant recovery.

Increased waiting times and flexible schedules should be better prepared ahead of time for traveling people. Thus, air travelers have even more reasons to prepare because they will take advantage of airlines now in preparation mode, factoring in all travelers. This Thanksgiving 2024 holiday will go into the books with increased numbers of domestic and international travelers.