Record Thanksgiving travel rush threatened by heavy snow and flight delays
Thanksgiving travel in the US hit a 15-year high despite looming snowstorms threatening major disruptions in some states.
Thanksgiving air travel was expected to reach a 15-year high in 2025, as millions of Americans travelled to meet their loved ones for the holiday.
According to the American Automobile Association, 81.8 million people were projected to travel for Thanksgiving, including 73.28 million who were expected to drive.
The US Department of Transportation (USDOT) said that 19.3 million people were projected to fly over Thanksgiving week, including an estimated 2.4 million on Thanksgiving Day alone.
“USDOT is working to get you to your loved ones safely and efficiently. Happy Thanksgiving!” the department wrote to X.
This flight animation, provided to Storyful by Flightradar24, shows the overwhelming amount of planes that flew over the country between 12:05am and 10:31pm UTC on Thursday, November 27.
It came as the Midwest and Great Lakes region braced for snowstorms over the weekend, adding strain to the transport networks.
More than 800 flights were delayed as of Thursday morning, local time, as the wintry weather pattern formed.
“A slowly departing winter storm over the Great Lakes region, coupled with cold air overrunning the relatively warmer waters of the Great Lakes, continues to focus heavy lake-effect snowfall, and this is expected to continue through Friday before gradually tapering off by early Saturday,” the National Weather Service said.
The service said snow of up to one to two feet could be expected, with some of the heaviest totals predicted across northern portions of Michigan, far northeast Ohio, northwest Pennsylvania and western New York.
Iowa and Wisconsin were also expected to see heavy snow.
