Nonetheless, South Florida airport officials, the nation\u2019s airlines and the Federal Aviation Administration are all expecting record numbers of travelers between now and Dec. 2.<\/p>\n
\u201cDuring the 12-day Thanksgiving travel period from Nov. 21 to Dec. 2, we expect 1.96 million passengers at MIA, which would be a 4% increase over last year and a new record,\u201d Greg Chin, spokesman for Miami International Airport, said in an email Monday. \u201cThe busiest days are projected to be Nov. 21-22 and Nov. 29-Dec. 1, when travel at MIA is expected to reach or exceed 170,000 passengers daily.\u201d<\/p>\n
Neither Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International nor Palm Beach International airports responded to requests for Thanksgiving travel forecasts on Monday. But a recent survey of 350 U.S. airports for the online booking platform Luxury Link shows what travelers can expect at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood. During Thanksgiving and Christmas in 2024, holiday traffic jumped by 17.3% year over year. The airport handled an average of 56,226 passengers per day, according to the survey. The upside change was the largest among hub airports across the nation.<\/p>\n
Flights to peak Tuesday<\/p>\n
The FAA says it expects the busiest Thanksgiving travel period in 15 years. The peak day for flight operations is expected to be Tuesday, with 52,000 flights traversing the nation\u2019s skies.<\/p>\n
\u201cThanks to the dedication of our air traffic controllers and every FAA employee, we are ready for the holiday rush and take pride in helping travelers reach their friends and families during this important time of year,\u201d said FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford in a statement. \u201cI am deeply grateful to our entire FAA team. Even through a period of record-high traffic, their unwavering commitment keeps the system running safely.\u201d<\/p>\n
The nation\u2019s air traffic control system returned to relatively normal operations last week as politicians in Washington ended the longest-ever government shutdown and an FAA-mandated\u00a0 cutback of airline flights came to an end.<\/p>\n
Despite the personal inconveniences and financial losses incurred by thousands of delays and cancellations earlier this month, travel analysts expect most travelers will set the animus aside and board planes to visit friends and family.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think the shutdown at this point is history for air travel. The airlines understand this time of year so well. They know exactly what they need to do,\u201d Sheldon H. Jacobson, an airport and airlines operations expert at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, told The Associated Press. \u201cThe real challenge is making sure travelers can help themselves.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"Passengers](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/TFL-l-SoFla-Thanksgiving-travel.jpg\")
Passengers make their way around Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport’s Terminal 2 on Monday. (Carline Jean\/South Florida Sun Sentinel)<\/p>\n
Some tips for travelers:<\/p>\n
Watch for bad weather up north. According to AccuWeather, \u201ccross-country storms will disrupt holiday travel; winds could threaten parade balloons in New York City and Philadelphia\u201d on Thursday, the service warned Monday. \u201cThunderstorms and rain could slow road and air travel from the Plains and Mississippi Valley to the East Coast through Wednesday.\u201d
\nWhen packing, \u201ccheck every pocket in case TSA-restricted items, like full-sized bottles, were left behind from a previous trip. This simple scan can help you get through security faster, especially when airports are crowded,\u201d Jacobson said.
\nFor airport security checkpoints, \u201cdon\u2019t forget a REAL ID is required to fly within the U.S., or you\u2019ll need to bring another accepted form of ID, like a passport or military ID,\u201d according to Jacobson.
\nTo keep pace with your flight\u2019s status, download your airline\u2019s app \u201cand check it regularly as your travel date approaches. That way, if your flight is canceled the day before, you can quickly look for alternatives,\u201d Jacobson said.<\/p>\n
Road trips<\/p>\n
Some analysts surmised that many travelers jarred by the shutdown have canceled their flights and opted for road trips in their personal cars, or even rides aboard Amtrak, the national passenger system, or closer to home, Brightline.<\/p>\n
AAA \u2014 The Auto Club Group said Monday that it, too, expects record numbers of travelers to take to the nation\u2019s and state\u2019s highways, a surge that will drive up the price of a gallon of gasoline.<\/p>\n
\u201cGiven the timing of the shutdown, happening just weeks before the holiday, it wouldn\u2019t be a surprise to see travelers adjust their plans to avoid potential headaches surrounding air travel,\u201d Mark Jenkins, a spokesman for AAA in Tampa, told the South Florida Sun Sentinel by email.<\/p>\n
Of a \u201crecord-setting 81.8 million Americans\u201d expected to travel 50 miles or more, 73 million will drive, the organization said in a statement.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn Florida, more than 4.25 million residents are expected to venture out,\u201d the statement said. \u201cTuesday and Wednesday afternoons are forecast to be the busiest times on the road.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jenkins said gas prices jumped 20 cents last week.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf that pattern holds, drivers could see prices ease as they hit the road for Thanksgiving,\u201d he said. \u201cWith pump prices matching last year\u2019s holiday, even a small drop would give travelers extra savings compared to 2024.\u201d<\/p>\n
As of Sunday, Florida gas prices averaged $3.10 per gallon, which is 18 cents above last week and 15 cents more than last month. It\u2019s also the same price as Thanksgiving Day last year, AAA said.<\/p>\n
Before leaving, check the tires, car battery and fluids, AAA advises. Make sure you hit the road \u201cwith a full tank of gas as early as possible to avoid traffic.\u201d\u00a0 AAA says it responded to nearly 600,000 emergency roadside assistance calls during the 2024 Thanksgiving holiday to help drivers with dead batteries, flat tires and empty gas tanks.<\/p>\n
All aboard?<\/p>\n
Brightline, the Miami-based higher speed rail line which rarely passes over a chance to run holiday or special events promotions, said it expects \u201ctens of thousands\u201d to board its trains for trips between Miami and Orlando.<\/p>\n
\u201cGuests also will be able to take advantage of our added Premium capacity over the holidays with five additional premium cars added to the new network this month and five more by the end of the year,\u201d according to a spokesperson. \u201cWe debuted our new Premium benefits last month, including priority queueing, boarding, and enhanced checked bag benefits and added an additional five Premium cars.\u201d<\/p>\n
Amtrak, the nation\u2019s national passenger service, said it, too, expects high levels of holiday bookings.<\/p>\n
\u201cAmtrak is operating full service and is ready to welcome travelers with a smooth, flexible, and convenient experience,\u201d said a spokesperson by email. \u201cAs air travel becomes less reliable, more riders are choosing the convenience of rail \u2014 a trend that began before the government shutdown and many flight cancellations.\u201d<\/p>\n
In South Florida, Amtrak\u2019s Floridian, which ends in Chicago, and the Silver Meteor, which goes to New York, serve stations including Miami, Hollywood, Fort Lauderdale, Deerfield Beach and West Palm Beach.<\/p>\n
Tri-Rail, the publicly subsidized commuter line that serves 19 stations across Palm Beach, Broward and Miami-Dade counties, said it is watching and waiting. The line\u2019s southernmost station is a short distance from Miami International Airport. It also operates a shuttle bus service between Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International and the railroad\u2019s station on nearby Griffin Road west of Interstate 95.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re not expecting anything outside the norm,\u201d said Tri-Rail spokesman Victor Garcia. But the rail line is \u201cready for an influx.\u201d<\/p>\n
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"No hard feelings toward Uncle Sam? Well, millions of Thanksgiving holiday travelers probably won\u2019t go that far this…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":59429,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[506,558,28,29,249,251,250,114,123,373,115,557,109,1798,4556],"class_list":["post-59428","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-fort-lauderdale","tag-broward-county","tag-business","tag-florida","tag-florida-news","tag-fort-lauderdale","tag-fort-lauderdale-headlines","tag-fort-lauderdale-news","tag-latest-headlines","tag-miami","tag-miami-dade-county","tag-news","tag-palm-beach-county","tag-social","tag-transportation","tag-west-palm-beach"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59428","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=59428"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59428\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/59429"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=59428"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=59428"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=59428"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}