From USA Today
Holiday travel estimate at 37.2M
By Alan Levin and Mimi Hall, USA TODAY
WASHINGTON The rush is on. Travelers are jamming airports, trying to get a jump on the Thanksgiving holiday weekend. Tens of millions of Americans are expected to hit the road today, in numbers not been seen since before the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, and despite high fuel prices, bad weather and possible delays from increased security at airports
By 6 a.m. ET, thousands of travelers were already in line at ticket counters and security checkpoints at Washington's Reagan National Airport. Most were taking the wait in stride, but some said they were surprised to see that the lines snaked two-thirds of the way down the main concourse in both directions.
Security is visibly tighter at the airport. Screeners for the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) are telling travelers over a public address what they need to do to keep the lines moving.
People are being asked to remove all outer layers of clothing. They're also being asked to take cigarette packs and candy bars out of their pockets. The foil apparently could set off the detectors.
Airports across the nation are girding for long lines in what is expected to be the busiest Thanksgiving ever for fliers. About 16.3 million people will board flights during the 11 days surrounding the holiday, according to the Air Transport Association trade group. (Related: Track flights | Delays around USA)
Highways will also be busy. A survey of the USA by the American Automobile Association projects 37.2 million people will make trips of 50 miles or more in the days before and after Thanksgiving, a 3% increase over last year's heavy holiday traffic.
"Travel is back," says Mantill Williams, spokesman for the AAA.
Overall, this year is on a record-setting pace for air travel. The Air Transport group predicts people will take 685 million flights this year, which will break the previous record set in 2000.
But the effect of the increased traffic remains to be seen. In recent holiday seasons when large numbers of travelers were expected, extra staff at some airports and train stations have eased the burden and minimized delays.
"So far, so good," says Tara Hamilton, spokeswoman for the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority, which oversees Reagan National and Dulles airports. "I've been looking at the lines at both airports and it's been busy, but the lines have been moving."
Delays can happen quickly. The TSA says slowdowns occasionally occur after screeners are forced to search people who try to bring forbidden items on planes.
Airport screeners in October alone seized ammunition 2,000 times. In the first 10 months of this year, they also seized 2,150 guns as well as a landmine and an occasional chainsaw, TSA spokeswoman Amy von Walter says.
"You name it, we've seen it," she says. The majority of the weapons are absent-mindedly brought to airports by people meaning no harm.
Other possible problems this holiday could come from a newly implemented security measure calling for "pat down" searches of passengers in the wake of the twin bombings of Russian airliners Aug. 24.
Then there's the bad weather, which is expected across most of the country. "It's a real good day not to be going over the river and through the woods to grandmother's house unless grandmother lives next door," says Buzz Bernard, senior meteorologist at The Weather Channel.
Rain is expected today and tomorrow in the East, with flooding possible along the Gulf Coast and heavy rains in the Southeast, Ohio Valley and Upstate and Western New York.
Travelers can expect higher prices at gas pumps. Gasoline is 40 cents higher than at this time last year, according to AAA. The average price of self-serve regular unleaded, $1.94, is the most drivers have ever paid during a Thanksgiving holiday, Williams says.
Holiday travel estimate at 37.2M
By Alan Levin and Mimi Hall, USA TODAY
WASHINGTON The rush is on. Travelers are jamming airports, trying to get a jump on the Thanksgiving holiday weekend. Tens of millions of Americans are expected to hit the road today, in numbers not been seen since before the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, and despite high fuel prices, bad weather and possible delays from increased security at airports
By 6 a.m. ET, thousands of travelers were already in line at ticket counters and security checkpoints at Washington's Reagan National Airport. Most were taking the wait in stride, but some said they were surprised to see that the lines snaked two-thirds of the way down the main concourse in both directions.
Security is visibly tighter at the airport. Screeners for the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) are telling travelers over a public address what they need to do to keep the lines moving.
People are being asked to remove all outer layers of clothing. They're also being asked to take cigarette packs and candy bars out of their pockets. The foil apparently could set off the detectors.
Airports across the nation are girding for long lines in what is expected to be the busiest Thanksgiving ever for fliers. About 16.3 million people will board flights during the 11 days surrounding the holiday, according to the Air Transport Association trade group. (Related: Track flights | Delays around USA)
Highways will also be busy. A survey of the USA by the American Automobile Association projects 37.2 million people will make trips of 50 miles or more in the days before and after Thanksgiving, a 3% increase over last year's heavy holiday traffic.
"Travel is back," says Mantill Williams, spokesman for the AAA.
Overall, this year is on a record-setting pace for air travel. The Air Transport group predicts people will take 685 million flights this year, which will break the previous record set in 2000.
But the effect of the increased traffic remains to be seen. In recent holiday seasons when large numbers of travelers were expected, extra staff at some airports and train stations have eased the burden and minimized delays.
"So far, so good," says Tara Hamilton, spokeswoman for the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority, which oversees Reagan National and Dulles airports. "I've been looking at the lines at both airports and it's been busy, but the lines have been moving."
Delays can happen quickly. The TSA says slowdowns occasionally occur after screeners are forced to search people who try to bring forbidden items on planes.
Airport screeners in October alone seized ammunition 2,000 times. In the first 10 months of this year, they also seized 2,150 guns as well as a landmine and an occasional chainsaw, TSA spokeswoman Amy von Walter says.
"You name it, we've seen it," she says. The majority of the weapons are absent-mindedly brought to airports by people meaning no harm.
Other possible problems this holiday could come from a newly implemented security measure calling for "pat down" searches of passengers in the wake of the twin bombings of Russian airliners Aug. 24.
Then there's the bad weather, which is expected across most of the country. "It's a real good day not to be going over the river and through the woods to grandmother's house unless grandmother lives next door," says Buzz Bernard, senior meteorologist at The Weather Channel.
Rain is expected today and tomorrow in the East, with flooding possible along the Gulf Coast and heavy rains in the Southeast, Ohio Valley and Upstate and Western New York.
Travelers can expect higher prices at gas pumps. Gasoline is 40 cents higher than at this time last year, according to AAA. The average price of self-serve regular unleaded, $1.94, is the most drivers have ever paid during a Thanksgiving holiday, Williams says.
