With government shutdown travel woes now in the rearview mirror, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is predicting that the 2025 Thanksgiving travel period will be the busiest in more than a decade. But travelers heading home for holiday turkey dinner could be delayed by weather, forecasters say.
“We expect this Thanksgiving holiday travel period to be the busiest in 15 years, with Tuesday, Nov. 25 being the peak travel day with more than 52,000 flights,” according to an FAA press release.
FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford said his agency, and federal air traffic controllers, are ready to handle an expected 360,000 flights over the Nov. 24-Dec. 2 holiday travel period.
In its annual holiday travel forecast, AAA predicted that 81.8 million people will travel at least 50 miles from home over the Thanksgiving holiday. The auto club noted that 1.6 million more travelers are expected to be on the roads, rails and in the air compared to last year, setting a new overall record for Thanksgiving travel.
Holiday travel is showing remarkable resilience in the wake of the disruptions experienced during the recent government shutdown, which ended on Nov. 12—less than two weeks ago.
“People are willing to brave the crowds and make last-minute adjustments to their plans to make lifelong memories, whether it’s visiting extended family or meeting up with friends,” noted Stacey Barber, VP of AAA Travel.
AAA predicted that almost 90 percent of Thanksgiving travelers—73 million, 1.3 million more than in 2024—will go by car. About 6 million will fly, and about 2.5 million will travel by other means, like bus, train and cruise ship.
Traffic is an unwanted holiday tradition for many travelers, but weather also may be a factor in getting to the Thanksgiving table this year. The Weather Channel is forecasting rain along the east coast leading up to Thanksgiving, and snow in the upper midwest and northwest. And more snow and rain could hamper both ground and air travel later in the week as people head home from the holidays, especially in the midwest, northeast and south.
