Thanksgiving Air Travel Is Set to Be Busier Than Ever This Year—Here’s What to Know

Elise Taylor
Updated
Here's what you need to know before heading to the airport for the Thanksgiving holiday, according to an expert.

There’s no place like home for the holidays—that is, once you get there.

Thanksgiving travel never seems to go smoothly. And while every travel method has its moments, planes really up the ante with snaking security lines, the death match to get your overhead luggage into the bin, and interminable delays.

With that in mind, here’s what you need to know before going to your local airport, a.k.a. the ninth circle of hell:

The Numbers

The TSA predicts that 25 million people will fly for Thanksgiving this year. (Want to read some oh-my-god numbers? During Thanksgiving week, New York’s LaGuardia airport is expecting 50,000 people a day. At John F. Kennedy Airport, that climbs to 100,000.) In total, says the TSA, it will screen 2.1 to 2.2 million people per day. Last year, according to AirHelp, More than 153,000 flights departed from U.S. airports for Thanksgiving last year.

The Roads Most Traveled

Where, exactly, are all these people going? AirHelp says that the most popular legs are as follows: Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) to San Francisco International Airport (SFO), New York LaGuardia Airport (LGA) to Chicago O'Hare International Airport (ORD), ORD to LGA, and JFK to LAX.

And not only is LAX to SFO the busiest route, but it’s also the most disrupted. In fact, all three most disrupted routes are on the west coast—the second most is SFO to LAX, and the third is Seattle Tacoma Airport (SEA) to SFO.

If you’re taking one of those journeys, hope is not lost! Although peak travel times differ by airport, “overall, during Thanksgiving weekend last year, flights departing between 6:00 a.m. and 11:59 a.m. experience the fewest disruptions,” Henrik Zillmer, CEO of AirHelp, told Vogue. “So when in doubt, the morning may be the best time to fly, especially with small children.”

That, and maybe consider taking the “days less traveled”: “Overall, in 2017, the busiest travel day during Thanksgiving weekend was the Sunday after Thanksgiving,” Zillmer says. “To avoid the largest crowds, travelers should consider booking return flights from visiting family and friends on either the Saturday or Monday after Thanksgiving.”

Good advice, but this late in the game, many people have already booked their flights. Which brings us to the next section….

When Disaster Strikes

You’ve made it to Atlanta, but your bag is in Cleveland. Yes, you bought a ticket, but that doesn’t mean you got a seat. So what do you do when a travel headache turns into a nightmare?

If your luggage is lost, you might be able to get compensated for it. “Under air passenger rights laws, including U.S. national law and the Montreal Convention, the maximum compensation from an airline for checked luggage that is either lost or damaged is $1,525 – $3,500. You must however, file a claim before leaving the airport and fill out a Property Irregularity Report (PIR) claim for your misplaced luggage. Be sure to include the case number of your bags and an itemized list of the contents in your luggage, with the value of each item,” Zilmer says.

If you’re overbooked, Zilmer adds, “you can request a refund of your fare and a return flight to your original point of departure, if necessary, right at the airport. In addition, you may be eligible for compensation of up to $1,350 which you can claim right at the gate.”

Good luck and godspeed, fellow weary travelers.

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