Millions heading home from Thanksgiving dealing with delays, travel stress
NEW YORK (WABC) -- The Sunday after Thanksgiving is the second-busiest day of the busiest week for travel, but not by much. The busiest day was Wednesday, but Sunday it was almost as crowded on the roads and at the airports.
Millions of Americans headed home from Thanksgiving are dealing with travel stress - from bumper-to-bumper traffic to crowded airports.
"We usually go to the counter and check our bags in really quick. We walked in, there's so many people over there," said Malena Lopez.
Airlines for America, which is a trade association and lobbying group representing major U.S. airlines, expects an all-time high of nearly 30 million passengers in the skies over the holiday stretch. That is a nine percent increase from last year.
Some new TSA X-ray technology at airports is making for a smoother screening process despite the large crowds.
"Liquids, gels, and aerosols are not required to be removed from your bag. So it really makes it convenient for when you're going through the actual screening process," said Reggie Stevens, TSA Federal Security Director for Michigan.
Those driving home are spending extra time in traffic.
Triple A projects more than 55 million people would have traveled 50 miles or more from their homes this week - that's a 2.3 percent increase from last year and the third-highest Thanksgiving forecast since it began tracking holiday travel in 2000.
Drivers are getting some welcome relief at the gas pump - prices have kept on dropping for the last three months according to Gas Buddy.
However, weather is complicating travel. Eleven states, including New York, are dealing with weather alerts as a cross-country storm brings snow and rain to parts of the country.
Most of the northeast is just wet, but in Wichita, Kansas there are near-whiteout conditions. Snow has made driving treacherous.
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