Port Authority expects 2% increase in Thanksgiving air travelers

NEW YORK (PIX11) -- About 80 million people will travel 50 miles or more for Thanksgiving this year, according to AAA.

The Port Authority estimates a 2% increase in the number of people catching a flight from our area compared to last year’s Thanksgiving week.  

Whether by train or by plane, the race against the Thanksgiving holiday rush is on. 

“I made sure I got here early, I know the Thanksgiving memo, get here three hours earlier or something like that,” said Cody at Newark Liberty International Airport. He’s a college student in New Jersey and was flying back home to Nashville.

With people spreading their travel all week long, AAA extended the holiday travel period for the first time this year to include the Tuesday before Thanksgiving and the Monday after.

“Even with those two days added to the previous year’s forecast, this year is still a record,” stated Jillian Young from AAA Northeast.

And among those 3.2 million travelers expected to fly out of one of our region’s airports, Athena and her son Elias were catching the red eye to London where they used to live. “We just drove here from Philly. There are more options so for us, it was a very convenient flight,” said Athena.

But some people don’t want to deal with airport chaos and rather get on a train like Mike, traveling to Boston from Penn Station. “Getting to the airport dealing with security, the train you walk right on, and you're good,” said Mike.

Brook, also getting on a train. She is hoping for a better experience this year. “This is the first I have done the flight before it was pretty tough,” said Brook.

But regardless of the mode of transportation, the most important thing is to arrive safe and sound for this special holiday. “I like the gratitude and the traditions. It’s something that is coming a bit more as I get older,” stated Elias.

Sunday is projected to be the busiest day for air travelers. Port Authority officials are advising people to arrive at the airports at least two hours early for domestic flights.