The holiday spirit is in the air at Newark Liberty International Airport.
The Port Authority is expecting record air travel numbers during the Thanksgiving window, topping the previous record set just last year.
But with the volume comes issues – Friday saw more than 450 delays and nine cancellations.
The Federal Aviation Administration says it might need to slow down air traffic for holiday travel times because of air traffic controller staffing shortages, particularly in the northeast. They say the slowdowns are for safety reasons.
Earlier this year, the agency moved responsibility for handling the Newark area air traffic to its facility in Philadelphia. That was in an effort to improve staffing levels.
The Transportation Safety Administration is prepared for the busiest Thanksgiving travel period on record and is projected to screen 18.3 million people from Tuesday, Nov. 26 to Monday, Dec. 2, representing a volume increase of approximately 6% from this time in 2023.
The TSA says Tuesday will be the busiest travel day for flyers, and the Port Authority says Sunday will be its busiest day.
Officials say travelers should arrive at the airport early and download the airport and airline apps to stay ahead of any delays or cancellations.
And it is not just flyers who are traveling away this Thanksgiving. AAA says nearly 2 million New Jersey residents are expected to travel by roadway this holiday.
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