Thanksgiving Air Travel Is Expected to Be the Busiest in History This Year

The Friday before Thanksgiving until the Monday after is the danger zone of air travel, because few of us on this Earth are immune to the force that is familial obligation. We must go and tell our relatives we are not yet married. We must let our niece know that she is getting so big. We must cranberry sauce. 

Though our massive country is a hotbed for pseudo-estrangement, family ties still run deep. About 26.8 million passengers are expected to fly nationwide between November 22 and December 2 of this year, according to TSA Acting Deputy Administrator Patricia Cogswell. Cogswell spoke at a news conference at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport on Wednesday, announcing that this Thanksgiving period will be 4% busier than it was last year.

The biggest contribution to this record-breaking number? According to the Senior Vice President of Airlines for America Sharon Pinkerton, it's the Sunday after Thanksgiving. Pinkerton told CNN that it will likely be "the single busiest day ever for the US airline industry," with about 3.1 million passengers traveling. 

While travel around Thanksgiving certainly isn't cheap, it's nice to make the trip if you have the means to do so. Unless you live in Michigan... The state has a booze shortage that might ruin every resident's holiday. 

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