Thanksgiving Travel Tips: How to Survive Flights and Rental Cars

Planes, trains, highways — they’ll all be crowded during the Thanksgiving holiday, traditionally one of the busiest travel times.

The Transportation Security Administration expects 18.3 million airline passengers to be screened from Tuesday, Nov. 26, to Monday, Dec. 2, an increase of about 6 percent over the same period in 2023 and a record number. The three busiest travel days are forecast to be the Tuesday and Wednesday before Thanksgiving and the Sunday after the holiday.

However, most travelers will travel by road. Nearly 72 million drivers are expected to drive 50 or more miles from home between Tuesday and Monday, according to AAA, the automobile association. (Nearly 2.3 million people will be traveling on buses, trains or cruise ships.)

For drivers, AAA offers suggestions including recommended departure days and times depending on where you live and how long you expect to spend in transit during holiday traffic.

If you’re flying, even getting to the airport can be a challenge. For those looking to save costs, Uber is bringing back its shared ride feature, now called UberX Share, which matches passengers from airports with a passenger at eight airports across the country, with each rider receiving up to 25 percent off. In New York, the company has also launched a shuttle service between four locations in Manhattan and LaGuardia Airport.

Other problems may also occur. On Monday, members of the Service Employees International Union demonstrated at Charlotte Douglas International Airport in North Carolina to demand better pay for cabin cleaners, wheelchair users and garbage truck drivers employed by American Airlines contractors. FlightAware, a tracking website, reported no cancellations in Charlotte and 7 percent of outbound flights were delayed, not an unusually high number.