AAA is expecting a record number of travelers over the Thanksgiving holiday period this year with nearly 80 million people expected to travel 50 miles from home or more. This year’s projection is an increase of 1.7 million people compared to 2023.“Thanksgiving is the busiest holiday for travel and this year we’re expecting to set new records across the board— from driving to flying and cruising,” Stacey Barber, Vice President of AAA Travel, said. AAA is projecting 71.7 million people will travel by car and 5.8 million will take to the skies. A spokesperson for the Sacramento International Airport said they’re expecting the holiday travel rush to begin on Friday and last through the Wednesday before Thanksgiving. KCRA 3 spoke with travelers on Thursday who were getting a head start on the holiday crowds. “I definitely didn’t want to fly during Thanksgiving,” Kili Silafau said. “I didn’t want to deal with all the rush and things like that, so I thought it’d be a good idea just to get ahead of it, go before the holiday.”“It just made more sense to beat the rush,” Christina Rubio said. “We’ve traveled on Thanksgiving before, and that’s why we’re not doing it again,” Bob Davis said. Wherever you’re headed, travelers say it’s important to be patient. “Allow time and be especially kind because it’s a holiday weekend and everybody’s trying to do the same thing,” Davis said. “You can only control what you can control. Be comfortable and expect it and yeah, hopefully everything ends up smooth,” Silafau said. SMF recommends getting to the airport two and a half hours before your flight takes off. They also recommend downloading your airline’s app and checking for flight updates at least 24 hours in advance.See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app | Subscribe to our morning newsletter
AAA is expecting a record number of travelers over the Thanksgiving holiday period this year with nearly 80 million people expected to travel 50 miles from home or more.
This year’s projection is an increase of 1.7 million people compared to 2023.
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“Thanksgiving is the busiest holiday for travel and this year we’re expecting to set new records across the board— from driving to flying and cruising,” Stacey Barber, Vice President of AAA Travel, said.
AAA is projecting 71.7 million people will travel by car and 5.8 million will take to the skies.
A spokesperson for the Sacramento International Airport said they’re expecting the holiday travel rush to begin on Friday and last through the Wednesday before Thanksgiving.
KCRA 3 spoke with travelers on Thursday who were getting a head start on the holiday crowds.
“I definitely didn’t want to fly during Thanksgiving,” Kili Silafau said. “I didn’t want to deal with all the rush and things like that, so I thought it’d be a good idea just to get ahead of it, go before the holiday.”
“It just made more sense to beat the rush,” Christina Rubio said.
“We’ve traveled on Thanksgiving before, and that’s why we’re not doing it again,” Bob Davis said.
Wherever you’re headed, travelers say it’s important to be patient.
“Allow time and be especially kind because it’s a holiday weekend and everybody’s trying to do the same thing,” Davis said.
“You can only control what you can control. Be comfortable and expect it and yeah, hopefully everything ends up smooth,” Silafau said.
SMF recommends getting to the airport two and a half hours before your flight takes off. They also recommend downloading your airline’s app and checking for flight updates at least 24 hours in advance.
See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app | Subscribe to our morning newsletter
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