More than 50 Million Americans Will Travel for Thanksgiving, AAA Says

by Daniel McCarthy November 17, 2022

This year’s Thanksgiving Holiday will be one of the three busiest Thanksgiving travel seasons since 2000.

AAA said this week that it is expecting 54.6 million people to travel 50 miles or more from home over the holiday. That number is a 1.5% increase over 2021, 98% of 2019 volumes, and the third busiest for Thanksgiving travel since AAA started tracking in 2000.

Most travelers will drive to their destination—AAA expects 49 million of that close to 55 million to drive—while 4.5 million Americans will fly to their Thanksgiving destination. AAA expects more than 1.4 million to travel by bus, train, or cruise ship, too.

All those numbers are greater than 2021 levels, and just slightly below pre-pandemic levels from 2019. In total, total numbers are expected to be up 1.5% from 2021 and down 2.49% from 2019.

“Families and friends are eager to spend time together this Thanksgiving, one of the busiest for travel in the past two decades,” says Paula Twidale, AAA’s Senior Vice President of Travel. “Plan ahead and pack your patience, whether you’re driving or flying.”

Planning ahead means not just reserving car parking at airport lots, which are expected to sell out in some cities according to Twidale, but also avoiding traffic on the road.

According to AAA, if you’re traveling by car, there will be some times that are better than others to be on the road:

23: worst travel time is 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.; best travel time is before 8 a.m. and after 8 p.m.
24: worst travel time is 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.; best travel time is before 11 a.m. and after 6 p.m.
25: worst travel time is 4 p.m. to 8 p.m.; best travel time is before 11 a.m. and after 8 p.m.
26: worst travel time is 4 p.m. to 8 p.m.; best travel time is before 2 p.m. or after 8 p.m.
27: worst travel time is 4 p.m. to 8 p.m.; best travel time is before 11 a.m. and after 8 p.m.

AAA has also, as part of this study with S&P Global, studied the worst time to travel in some of the busier metro areas in the U.S.

The worst, in terms of increase over typical traffic, is New York on I-278 South and I-495 to 6^thAve on the afternoon of the 23^rd, which will see traffic increase 158% over typical times.

Others that are over 100% include Los Angeles on I-5 South and Colorado St. to Florence Avenue on the evening of the 23^rd, which will have a 144% increase over typical times. There is also Atlanta on I-85 South and Clairmont Rd to MLK Jr Dr on Wednesday afternoon, which will see a 105% increase over typical traffic.