Busiest Travel Day is TODAY?

Not sure that bragging rights are all that important when airports are overcrowded but according to this article and others, the busiest day is not Thanksgiving weekend but instead TODAY.

Regardless which day is actually the busiest in terms of flights or passengers or whatever, this holiday season will be very busy for all travel. AAA estimates that nearly 100 million people will be moving about during this period so some planning and patience will be in order.

If you are flying, arrive at the airport earlier than usual. Check-in lines can easily be an hour or more at certain times and then there are the TSA security lines, possibly another hour, depending on time of the day. And then there is the hike to the gates, sometimes a long walk and other times, waiting for a train or shuttle.

Bottom line, it will be very crowded most days over the holiday season (an exception, by the way, is Christmas Day). Throw in some nasty weather or airplane mechanical issues and flight delays can ripple through the entire system. If possible, look at alternative flights just in case your planned flight runs into problems.  I flew on busiest-day-eve (yesterday) as I finished my last business trip for the year and missed my connection due to weather, so I quickly got on united.com to look for my “Plan B.”

Yes, delays are frustrating but most important, this is still about safety. Like all things travel, it is better to arrive late and complain about the delays than not to arrive at all.

Safe travels to everyone and Happy Holidays.