Name: Thanksgiving travel rush kicks off
Uploaded: 2025-11-21T17:23:47.993Z
Duration: 1 min 44 s
Description: Thanksgiving travel rush has kicked off. More than 31 million travelers are expected to fly leading up to Dec. 1. Kris Van Cleave has more.

Thanksgiving travel rush has kicked off. More than 31 million travelers are expected to fly leading up to Dec. 1. Kris Van Cleave has more.

The Thanksgiving travel period is underway, with 31 million Americans expected to fly between now and December 1, potentially setting a new record for air travel. Airlines such as United and American have increased their capacity, scheduling more flights and seats to accommodate the surge in demand.

Despite the preparations, two major storm systems could disrupt travel plans, and some airports are still recovering from TSA staffing shortages linked to a recent government shutdown. Airlines remain confident in their readiness, but the busiest travel days are anticipated after Thanksgiving, particularly the Sunday following the holiday.

Thanksgiving travel rush kicks off

People are on the road like we are, and we're going to begin to get you into your Thanksgiving destination rush the easy way. First the bad news. 31 million of your fellow Americans are expected to fly between now and December 1st. That would be a record, ladies and gentlemen, but we are also watching two major storm systems that could put a damper on many people's travel plans. Chris Van Cleve has already made his way to somewhere sunny, Miami International Airport. Chris, good morning. Well, good morning. No weather here, but we are watching for the potential of delays in Denver, Austin, and Newark today. Yesterday, it was Dallas that was the real headache. Otherwise, the start of this holiday travel season got off to a pretty good one for the airlines. They looked at yesterday as the beginning. United says today will actually be their busiest day leading up to Thanksgiving. The Wednesday before Thanksgiving, also very busy as millions of people are trying to stretch that holiday weekend just a little bit longer, perhaps making it a 10-day vacation. United says it plans to fly more than 6 million people during the holiday. That's up about 300,000 from last year, making it the airline's busiest Thanksgiving ever. Meanwhile, American Airlines has nearly 81,000 flights scheduled. Now, there is some booking data that indicates travel headaches caused during the government shutdown may have put a little bit of a dent into those predictions, as the pace of bookings did slow in November, and some airports report they are still getting back to normal in terms of TSA staffing. Still, the airlines are confident they are ready for the rush and believe they will be near or at or above record levels. They've added about 45,000 seats this year compared to last year. Of course, the busiest days, if you're flying, will come after Thanksgiving, with the Sunday after Thanksgiving probably the busiest at the airports and maybe the busiest ever, Gail.

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