AAA Predicts Busiest Thanksgiving Travel Season in Years

(KNSI) — AAA is out with its Thanksgiving travel prediction, and all signs point to one of the busiest seasons in years.

On a nationwide basis, 55 million people plan to go at least 50 miles during the holiday. Spokesman Mark Jenkins says numbers are showing travel is back to pre-pandemic levels. “This has been a very strong year for travel; despite various inflationary pressures, Americans still make travel a priority, and that’s still going to be the case this Thanksgiving.”

2023’s prediction is the third highest forecast for the holiday since AAA began tracking it in 2000.

Jenkins is urging people to make sure their cars are “road-trip ready,” as he also predicts AAA will have to rescue 360,000 stranded motorists.

“We have people out there who are responding to flat tires, dead batteries, all sorts of issues. You can avoid that. You can avoid spending your Thanksgiving on the roadside by simply going to a car care center and having your vehicle inspected before you hit the road.”

Most will drive to their destinations and will see lower gas prices than they did last year. The national average for the price of a gallon of regular unleaded is $3.36 as of Monday. That’s 41 cents cheaper than a year ago. In Minnesota, it’s $3.21.

Jenkins says 4.7 million travelers will fly, an increase of more than 6.5% compared to last Thanksgiving. Flights will cost more this year. Jenkins says the average airline ticket price is around $680.

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