What to Know About Thanksgiving Travel This Weekend

Gas prices could be one reason.

Among the things to be thankful for as you dive into that turkey dinner: The low gas prices that made it a bit easier to get to where you were going.

Airlines expect to carry an average of 2.1 million passengers a day over the Thanksgiving holiday period, which began last Friday and runs through next Tuesday, the most since 2007, said Airlines for America, an industry trade group.

Parker says these are the lowest Thanksgiving gas prices since 2008.

Spokeswoman Cheryl Parker that’s a one percent increase over previous year. If in doubt about an item, use the “When I fly can I bring my…” app to check whether an item is permitted in a carry-on bag, checked bag, either or neither.

Gas prices are important to a majority of travelers. AAA Travel estimates 46.9 million Americans will journey 50 miles or more from home during the Thanksgiving holiday.

The nationwide average for gasoline is expected to dip below the $2-a-gallon mark for the first time in years by Thursday – a far cry from summer prices when people took to the roads for Fourth of July and Labor Day.

There likely will be snow over the Grapevine on Interstate 5 this weekend, as well as 12 to 15 inches of snow across the Sierras from Lake Tahoe to Yosemite, forecasters said.

This year’s four-day Thanksgiving holiday weekend reflects a steady increase of Californians projected to travel since 2009, according to the latest travel survey from AAA.

That’s about 20% to 30% more than what the airport does weekly.

On Monday, the State Department issued a worldwide travel alert for Americans because of the increased threat of terrorism.

It’s the start of a busy holiday season in Charleston, and airport officials are doing what they can to try and ease the stress of traveling.

Campbell said that’s because TSA will be analyzing your baggage more closely and will have extra security standing around. “People make their travel plans, fairly, well in advance of a holiday”, Weinholzer said. The average price for regular gasoline stood at $1.97 in New Jersey on Tuesday, or 80 cents cheaper than this time previous year.

AAA predicts that at this rate the national average will fall below $2 per gallon by Christmas. The screening experience will go even faster if travelers remove everything from their pockets before they get to the checkpoint. But about 22,000 of those passenger flights will shift from Newark Liberty global Airport to John F. Kennedy Airport, the Port Authority said.