Flying for Thanksgiving? Read This First

Published November 19, 2018 | By Clark Norton

You may want to eat your turkey at home next year.

Some 25 million Americans are expected to travel for the Thanksgiving holiday – up seven percent from 2017.

It’s considered the busiest travel season of the year in the U.S.

Last year, more than 153,000 flights departed from U.S. airports between the Tuesday before Thanksgiving and the Monday after.

Airports are busiest on the Sunday after Thanksgiving, making it the worst day to fly if you’re looking to avoid crowds, delays, and disruptions.

The best time to fly to avoid disruptions is between 6 a.m. and noon.

Here are the busiest flight routes:

Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) → San Francisco International Airport (SFO) and reverse

New York LaGuardia Airport (LGA) → Chicago O’Hare International Airport (ORD) and reverse

Kahului Airport (OGG) → Honolulu International Airport (HNL) and reverse

New York John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) → Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) and reverse

Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) → Las Vegas McCarran International Airport (LAS) and reverse

Here are the most disrupted flight routes:

Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) → San Francisco International Airport (SFO) and reverse

Cranberries are a great addition to turkey sandwiches, perfect for surviving delayed flights

Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA) → San Francisco International Airport (SFO) and reverse

San Diego International Airport (SAN) → San Francisco International Airport (SFO) and reverse

Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) → Orlando International Airport (MCO)

San Francisco International Airport (SFO) → Las Vegas McCarran International Airport (LAS) and reverse

Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) → New York John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK)

In another survey, the three “worst” airports in the country — based on a variety of criteria — are three metro area New York airports:

Newark (EWR), LaGuardia (LGA), and John F. Kennedy (JFK).

So, if you’re flying this Thanksgiving, especially along some of the above air routes, pack a turkey sandwich (add cranberries for a yummy touch), hunker down, and figure out how you can travel by one-horse open sleigh next year — or invite family and friends to your house.

Note: Thanks to Travel Wire News and Air Help for these statistics.