Record Number of Travelers Expected Over Thanksgiving Week

Marvin Scott usually gets to the airport about 45 minutes before his flights, but on Wednesday, he arrived at Kennedy International Airport in New York two hours early, aware that experts had warned that this Thanksgiving travel week would be the busiest ever.

He was pleasantly surprised to find a calm scene as he walked toward the gates for his flight to Puerto Rico. “Now I’ve got to figure out what to do,” he said.

Whether people are moving by rail, road or air, the days around Thanksgiving are among the busiest travel days of the year in the United States, and this year is expected to break records.

The Transportation Security Administration said it expected to screen 18.3 million travelers from Tuesday through Monday — about 6 percent more than in 2023. AAA, the automobile organization, expects a record number of travelers, including nearly 72 million motorists.

Weather challenges across the United States threatened to disrupt those travel plans. The Midwest was expecting a wind chill, while the South and Northeast were expecting a cold, rainy storm system. Snow was also possible in parts of the Northeast.

Forecasters on Wednesday issued winter storm warnings for parts of Colorado and Utah, saying that heavy snow there could make travel difficult or impossible. More than 500 flights were delayed at Denver International Airport as snow moved over the area on Wednesday, according to FlightAware.