Traveling for Thanksgiving? Here’s how to prepare for the busiest transit day of 2025

Frantic Thanksgiving travelers should give each other some grace.

As is tradition, millions of Americans will cross many a state line to be with loved ones over Thanksgiving weekend — which means the same hoards of holidaymakers will return from whence they came on what has been called the busiest travel day of the year.

According to the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), more than 3 million travelers will pass through security checkpoints on Thanksgiving Sunday, Nov. 30 — making it one of the top 10 busiest days in TSA history, per Travel Market Report.

Data from Cirium, an aviation analytics company, backs up TSA stats, forecasting Nov. 30 to see over 3.3 million seats scheduled to fly domestically — as part of the projected 6 million domestic travelers to fly over the entire holiday weekend, said the American Automobile Association, a 2% increase compared to 2024,

That’s up 1.8% since last Thanksgiving Sunday, and 58,000 more seats compared to last year, and Cirium’s data showed that flight bookings are up 2.2% compared to last year.

Luckily, airlines are preparing for the increased demand. Cirium’s schedule analysis showed that US-based airlines added about 250,000 more seats on flights this Thanksgiving, up 2% from 2024.

Southwest and American added significantly more seats for passengers, leading the charge, while Spirit has actually cut back on flying, reducing about 239,000 seats.

This will also be the first Thanksgiving season with the TSA’s REAL ID rules in effect — and many passengers might not have flown since the new security measure was implemented.

To ensure a smooth travel, the TSA is warning flyers to bring a REAL ID, passport or another acceptable form of ID and to have it out and ready at security.

Combining planes, trains and automobiles, the AAA projects that 81.8 million people will travel at least 50 miles from home over the Thanksgiving holiday period, which is an additional 1.6 million travelers compared to last Thanksgiving.

Included in AAA’s stats are the 73 million people expected to take America’s roadways this weekend, making up nearly 90% of Thanksgiving travelers.

The AAA advised those traveling by car to fill their tank up with gas the night before a road trip, so it’s one less thing to worry about day of, as well as check your battery and tire pressure.

The association noted that the number of people hitting the road could potentially end up being higher if some people who are flying to their destination decide to drive instead due to fear of flight cancellations.

However, for those concerned about the aftermath of the government shutdown, Cirium found that there have been few disruptions at major airports, and flights are generally departing and arriving on time.

Since the shutdown ended, controller staffing has improved significantly and airlines were allowed to resume normal operations this week.