{"id":56818,"date":"2025-11-19T22:59:07","date_gmt":"2025-11-19T22:59:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/56818\/"},"modified":"2025-11-19T22:59:07","modified_gmt":"2025-11-19T22:59:07","slug":"record-number-of-texans-expected-to-travel-during-thanksgiving-week","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/56818\/","title":{"rendered":"Record number of Texans expected to travel during Thanksgiving week"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\t\t\t\t\tThanksgiving week is expected to be one of the busiest U.S. travel periods in history, according to projections from AAA<\/a>. A record 5.8 million Texans are projected to travel at least 50 miles from home Nov. 25-Dec. 1.<\/p>\n

About 5.3 million Texans are expected to drive to their Thanksgiving destinations, according to a Nov. 17 news release<\/a>, while about 328,000 people will fly and 140,000 will use other forms of transportation.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s what Texans should know as they make their travel plans for Thanksgiving.<\/p>\n

The details<\/p>\n

Texans should give themselves extra time to reach their destinations during Thanksgiving week, with the most congestion expected Nov. 25-26. Traffic is also expected to be heavy as Texans return home Nov. 30, according to INRIX<\/a>, a transportation data company.<\/p>\n

Minimal traffic is expected on Thanksgiving Day.<\/p>\n

\"\"The best time to hit the road for Thanksgiving travel is on Thanksgiving Day, according to AAA. Congestion is expected on major roads across Texas and nationwide both before and after the holiday. (Courtesy AAA)Thanksgiving travel is expected to be up both in Texas and nationally this year, according to AAA. Approximately 5.8 million Texans are expected to travel within and outside the state next week, up from about 5.7 million travelers last year and 5.6 million travelers during Thanksgiving 2019.<\/p>\n

AAA projects that 81.8 million Americans<\/a> will travel during Thanksgiving week, up from about 80 million last Thanksgiving.<\/p>\n

Thanksgiving is the busiest U.S. holiday for travel, topping holidays like Memorial Day and July Fourth, according to AAA.<\/p>\n

\u201cThanksgiving travel is a true Texas tradition,\u201d Galen Grillo, AAA Texas\u2019 vice president and general manager, said in a statement. \u201cFrom road trips along I-35 and I-10 to flights out of DFW and Houston, Texans go the distance to spend time with family and friends. It\u2019s one of the busiest\u2014and most meaningful\u2014times to travel each year.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"AAA projects that 81.8 million Americans will travel during Thanksgiving week, up from about 80 million travelers for the holiday last year. (Courtesy AAA)What else?<\/p>\n

Texas drivers will pay about the same for gas as they did last Thanksgiving, according to AAA Texas. One gallon of regular unleaded gas cost about $2.65 in Texas as of Nov. 13, down from $2.69 last year.<\/p>\n

The national average price for a gallon of gas is $3.08, which is also similar to last year.<\/p>\n

\u201cSteady gas prices are good news for the millions of Texans preparing to travel for Thanksgiving,\u201d AAA Texas spokesperson Daniel Armbruster said in a Nov. 13 news release<\/a>. \u201cCurrent market conditions are keeping pump prices in check, and barring any unexpected disruptions, we anticipate relatively calm conditions heading into the holiday rush.\u201d<\/p>\n

Travel tips<\/p>\n

AAA encourages drivers to travel in the morning to avoid the worst traffic and watch out for hazards, such as construction, crashes and unexpected weather.<\/p>\n

Texas recently commemorated 25 straight years of traffic fatalities<\/a> on roads throughout the state, with over 91,000 deaths in Texas traffic crashes<\/a> since Nov. 7, 2000. According to previous Community Impact reporting, state officials also encourage Texans to keep themselves and others safe by:<\/p>\n

Never driving under the influence of drugs or alcoholSlowing down in bad weather, heavy traffic, construction zones and unfamiliar areasEliminating distractions, and never using mobile devices while drivingEnsuring everyone in the vehicle is wearing a seatbeltUsing the left lane for passing only on multilane roadsKeeping the Texas Roadside Assistance number, 1-800-525-5555, stored in your phoneMoving over or slowing down for emergency vehicles stopped on the side of the roadBefore hitting the road for Thanksgiving, Texans should prepare their vehicles by checking tire pressure and treads; ensuring oil, coolant and windshield washer fluids are sufficiently filled; checking their car\u2019s battery, lights and brakes; and preparing emergency supplies, such as a flashlight, jumper cables, a portable jump starter and first aid kit, according to the Texas Department of Transportation<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Texans who are flying to their destinations this Thanksgiving should book parking in advance and check in for their flights online, per AAA Texas. The organization also recommends that passengers arrive at the airport at least two hours before a domestic flight and at least three hours before an international flight, in line with recommendations from Texas airports.<\/p>\n

Nationally, AAA projects that 6 million Americans will take domestic flights for Thanksgiving, although that number could be slightly lower due to uncertainty surrounding flight cancellations related to the recent federal government shutdown and air traffic controller staffing issues<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The Federal Aviation Administration lifted an emergency flight reduction order<\/a> for 40 U.S. airports, including those in Dallas and Houston<\/a>, on Nov. 17, five days after the federal shutdown ended<\/a>.\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Thanksgiving week is expected to be one of the busiest U.S. travel periods in history, according to projections…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":56819,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[19835,6966,132,134,133,30838,30835,30839,26022,13032,25703,16493,30831,30834,30836,30832,30829,30833,30837,30830],"class_list":["post-56818","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-austin","tag-aaa","tag-aaa-texas","tag-austin","tag-austin-headlines","tag-austin-news","tag-how-to-prepare-for-thanksgiving-travel","tag-inrix","tag-roadtrip-checklist","tag-texas-airports","tag-texas-gas-prices","tag-texas-highways","tag-texas-travel","tag-thanksgiving-2025","tag-thanksgiving-flights","tag-thanksgiving-gas-prices","tag-thanksgiving-traffic","tag-thanksgiving-travel-forecast","tag-traffic-forecast","tag-travel-safety","tag-when-is-the-best-day-to-travel-for-thanksgiving"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56818","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=56818"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56818\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/56819"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=56818"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=56818"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=56818"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}