NEW YORK, Nov. 25 (Xinhua) -- This Thanksgiving season will see more people on the road, as the U.S. American Automobile Association predicts that nearly 80 million Americans will venture at least 50 miles from home between Tuesday and next Monday, and most of them will travel by car.
Meanwhile, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) expects to screen 18.3 million people at U.S. airports during the same seven-day stretch, which would be 6 percent more than during the corresponding days last year but fit a pattern set throughout 2024.
The TSA predicts that 3 million people will pass through airport security checkpoints on Sunday, and the number may break the record of 3.01 million set on the Sunday after the July Fourth holiday. Tuesday and Wednesday are expected to be the next-busiest air travel days of the Thanksgiving week.
"This will be the busiest Thanksgiving ever in terms of air travel," TSA Administrator David Pekoske was quoted on Monday by The Associated Press as saying. "Fortunately, our staffing is also at the highest levels that they have ever been. We are ready."
"Wintry weather is always a wild card for Thanksgiving and Christmas travel by plane and automobile," said the report, adding that forecasters predicted more rain in California. The Midwest and Great Lakes regions are expected to get rain and snow on Monday, while the Northeast is expected to get hit with wet and blustery conditions by Thursday and Friday.