15000 travelers expected at Indianapolis airport Wednesday

USA airports are trotting out friendly companion dogs to calm jittery travelers and offering perks including free parking on Wednesday as throngs of people rush toward their Thanksgiving holiday celebrations.

(AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh).

Airports geared up for the rush Wednesday.

The Transportation Security Administration advertises that it gives wait times for security checkpoints at all airports on its website, but is that information really accurate?

Air travel also is expected to increase 1.6 percent, with 3.69 million Americans flying to their holiday destinations. It will be the first time many have gathered with family and friends since the rancorous election between Republican Donald Trump and Democrat Hillary Clinton, and many say they hope they can leave politics behind – even for just a day. In fact, LAX does slightly better with Thanksgiving flight delays than other major airports.

One traveler, Regina Talbot, says, “I thought that it wouldn’t be as hectic the day before Thanksgiving, but I’m mistaken”.

“I like it because she’s speaking and a lot of people don’t read you know, what the instructions are. But I’m not there yet”. “If you haven’t been here in a while”, she says, “you’ll notice differences”.

“I won’t bring it up”. The airport projects their busiest days will be after Thanksgiving, on Saturday, Sunday and Monday, with about 133,000 people expected to travel through MIA each day.

Nationwide, 48.7 million travelers are expected to take a Thanksgiving weekend trip – a 1.9 percent year-over-year increase, and the highest number of U.S. Thanksgiving travelers since 2007, according to AAA.

Over the past few days, parts of the country have been hit with snow and freezing rain, like Minnesota and Upstate New York. They also remind travelers that if the security line is small, it can still grow to a long line very quickly. Crowds grew steadily inside, too, as travelers pulled suitcases into departure terminals decked out with giants wreathes.

Amtrak added trains to MI and Downstate Illinois Wednesday, as well as to Milwaukee on Saturday and Sunday.