Two million per day to travel over Thanksgiving
Brace yourself. The Air Transport Association (ATA) projects that more than two million passengers per day will travel during the coming 12-day Thanksgiving crush. That’s a total of some 25 million folks.
ATA says November 17 through 28 will be busiest. This nation’s airlines expect a three percent rise over last year’s figures. What does that mean to you?
Airplanes should be more than 80 percent full over the holiday. Look for them to be fullest on Sunday, November 26, and Monday, November 27. Those should be the holiday’s two busiest days.
The coming crush means that passengers should be prepared for a bit of a wait at the airport. The best way to mitigate the delay is to go prepared. Here are some tips from ATA and Cheap Flight News:
- Familiarize yourself with the Transportation Security Administration's partial ban on gels, aerosols, and liquids. If you’re packing them in your carry-on, make sure each item is three ounces or less and fits inside one-quart, zip-lock, see-through bag. And (they don’t always tell you this) make sure that plastic bag is outside the carry-on when you go through screening;
- Leave lighters and matches at home. Period. Don’t put them in your carry-on, and don’t stick them in your checked luggage;
- Make sure you travel with an unexpired government-issued photo ID;
- Before you get to the airport, put all metal objects in your carry-on. Don’t wait until you get to the security line to do it. That will just slow things down;
- Make sure each piece of luggage carries a tag with your name and contact information;
- Check-in online, before you get to the airport. Most airlines will allow you to print out boarding passes on your home computer. Alternately, use self-service kiosks at the airport. But remember, at this time of year they’re going to be busy;
- Finally, if you’re going to park your car at the airport, call ahead for parking information, or consult your airport’s Web site. The place could be packed, and you’ll want to have time to arrange for alternate ground transportation.
© Cheapflights Ltd Jerry Chandler