Thanksgiving Travel Tips: How Busy Will Airports Be This Year

Thanksgiving travel is expected to ramp up this coming week at Boston’s Logan International Airport, with nearly 64,000 travelers anticipated during peak days.
That’s about 20,000 more travelers per day than at the same time in 2021.
The TSA has issued a warning for travelers, saying they should expect long lines at Logan, particularly next Tuesday and Wednesday, and the Sunday following Thanksgiving. In other words, pack your patience.
Many are expected to travel by road and air for Thanksgiving next week.
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“We try to staff, especially for the busiest times during the holiday travel season as much as we can,” TSA spokesperson Dan Velez said. “But there’s going to be a backup with the line because of the amount of folks that are traveling.”
Velez suggested that people arrive to the airport at least two hours before departure and have travel documents ready to go at security.
Travelers are also advised to use caution when packing a carry-on. Velez said many people have their Thanksgiving goods confiscated, because they were not in their checked bags.
“If you’re going to travel with food, keep in mind, if you can spray it, spread it, spill it, pump it, or pour it, it has to be in your checked bag,” Velez said. “Those items cannot be, because of liquid rules, in your carry-on bag.”
Velez also issued some guidance about traveling with guns.
Demand is growing and prices are skyrocketing for travel ahead of Thanksgiving and Christmas.
“Firearms can only travel in checked backs,” he said. “[They] must be declared to the airline you’re traveling with. They must be locked, unloaded and placed in a hard-sided case so that they are completely inaccessible.”
A record 26 guns were improperly secured at Logan this year, according to the TSA. The penalties could include losing pre-check privileges and fines up to $14,000.
Another tip to help accelerate the security check process is to place all of your loose items like watches, phones, keys or wallets in your carry-on bag. That will also help prevent misplacing some of those belongings when you go to retrieve them.