With Thanksgiving around the corner, Houston Airports and AAA are expecting a record-breaking holiday travel period.

Approximately 5.7 million travelers are expected to take to the road in Texas during this year’s travel period (Nov. 26 to Dec. 2), a 1.3% increase over last year, according to AAA Texas. 

“Thanksgiving is one of the busiest holidays for travel. And this year, AAA Texas expects to set new records across the board, from driving to flying and even cruising. Here in Texas, more than 100,000 additional people will be traveling this year compared to last Thanksgiving,” said Daniel Armbruster, AAA Texas Public Affairs.

Nationally, this Thanksgiving is projected to be the busiest on record, with an expected 79.86 million travelers, a 2.1% increase from 2023 and up 2.7% from 2019 according to AAA Texas.  

Taking it to the Skies 

This Thanksgiving holiday is also expected to break records for those taking it to the skies.

The Houston Airport System expects nearly 2.2 million passengers over the holiday travel period. According to a press release from Houston Airport System, George Bush Intercontinental Airport could see around 1.7 million passengers, while Hobby Airport could see around 500,000 travelers, marking a 2% increase over last year and 9% increase compared to 2022.

“These record-breaking numbers reflect growing demand for air travel through Houston. More than 75% of passengers will fly domestically, with less than 25% traveling internationally,” according to the release.

United Airlines, Houston’s largest air carrier, is expecting more than 6.2 million people to fly between Nov. 21 and Dec. 3 according to an article by Travel + Leisure, while American Airlines will welcome nearly 8.3 million passengers. 

Data from the travel site Hopper shows airfare prices are up 9% this year over last Thanksgiving, but still lower than they were in 2022 and before the pandemic. Gasoline prices are down about 5% on average across Texas compared with a year ago.

Written by Norma Salcedo