SAVANNAH, Ga. (WSAV) — Get ready for Thanksgiving stuffing – but brace for stuffed highways and long waits on your way to grandma’s house. The early Thanksgiving travel rush begins this weekend. It's expected to be a record-breaking year with tens of millions of people traveling for the holiday.
It seems like every holiday travel period now is reported to be record-breaking… and the fact is that every single travel period happens to have more and more travelers.
Early Friday morning before sunrise more than 160 travelers every 10 minutes made their way down the hallway to the security checkpoint. If you up that time a few minutes: more than 200 passengers are walking into the Savannah Hilton Head Airport every 15 minutes.
In AAA's report for 2024 Thanksgiving travel, they say that - nationwide – nearly 80 million Americans will be traveling 50 miles or more for the holidays. Around 5.8 million will fly, with air travel up 11% compared to 2019. That marks a 1.7 million increase from last year.
Here in Georgia, over 2.3 million people are expected to hit the roads or skies. Airport officials in Savannah tell WSAV they are anticipating more than 70,000 passengers, which is a 10% increase over the last year. To handle the rush, the airport is opening a new parking lot with a shuttle service and is fully staffed for the holiday.
"Pretty much every month for us has been bigger than the last year and the year before. I did not do the comparison for 2019, but we are about at a 5% increase this year over last year in terms of our available seats. So, we can expect to see at least that many more passengers as well," said Lori Lynah, the Director of Marketing and Air Service Development at the Savannah Hilton Head International Airport.
International flights are up more than 23% than last Thanksgiving, and 40,000 more drivers will be hitting the roads in Georgia. Officials contribute this to low gas prices, and cheaper costs to fly overseas.
This year’s extended AAA holiday forecast exceeds pre-pandemic numbers. When asked the question why each year more people are traveling over the holidays, the National Association of Realtors (NAR), says many people are moving farther away for work. According to data published by the NAR, the median distance people moved in 2022 was 50 miles, which is more than triple the median distance moved in the last 30 years. The report also found that 25% of buyers traveled over 470 miles to find their new home.
According to INRIX, a company that offers transportation data and analytics, next Tuesday, November 26th and Wednesday afternoon on November 27th are the worst times to drive. Thanksgiving Day itself is the ideal moment. INRIX also adds that drivers heading home on Sunday following the holiday should depart early in the morning. Georgia drivers heading to Atlanta should plan in advance. AAA car rental partner Hertz reports that Atlanta is one of the top seven cities displaying the highest rental demand for the Thanksgiving holiday.
If you are planning on flying, you should check flight updates through your airline either online or on the app, arrive 2 to 3 hours early, depending on parking, and TSA says anything over 3.4 ounces has to go in checked bags.
The Savannah Airport will be utilizing every staff member that they have for the holidays, along with extra parking. They tell WSAV they are ready for the rush.