BOSTON (WHDH) - As Thanksgiving approaches, Boston’s Logan International Airport is gearing up for the holiday travel rush.
Millions of people across the country are flocking to airports and taking to the read ahead of what’s expected to be a record-breaking holiday travel week.
“We expect nearly 80 million Americans to travel this year. That’s a pretty decent increase over last year, about 2 percent. And that’s actually about two million more people than Thanksgiving 2019, so pre-pandemic numbers, we can say they’re in the rearview mirror. We’re setting new records,” said Mark Schieldrop, a spokesperson for AAA Northeast.
According to AAA, Tuesday and Wednesday are expected to be the busiest travel days for ground and air travel.
“I would say, right now on Monday, get in there and get going, because it’s going to get worse. So, Tuesday is going to be busy. Wednesday traditionally is the busiest travel day of the year, although in recent years we have seen a little bit of a change where a lot of folks are leaving on that Tuesday instead of Wednesday,” Schieldrop said.
“So, the peak time on Wednesday might not actually be as bad as it used to be, but that means Tuesday is going to be a slog,” he continued.
Two roommates from Dartmouth College in Hanover, N.H. were ready to hop on a flight to Cleveland Monday, hoping to get ahead of the rush.
“We have a lot of family coming over, like 20 people, so it’s going to be a lively house. A bunch of Friendsgivings planned, and then hopefully a road trip on the east coast with my friends,” said Tomas Cakulev.
The majority of flights at Logan departed on time Monday. But as always, experts recommend travelers plan ahead.
“It’s definitely busy. It’s starting now, we’re seeing lines at TSA checkpoints around the country starting to build up as people try to get a head start on the busy travel period, which is only going to escalate as we get close to Thanksgiving on Thursday,” Schieldrop said.
In the Boston area, the peak congestion time on I-95 North this week is expected to be Tuesday at 3:45 p.m., AAA said.
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