Thanksgiving air travel off to good start, but delays growing on East Coast
NEW YORK - Americans packed up and headed to airports, train stations and highways today early this morning to get a jump on what was predicted to be the largest Thanksgiving pilgrimage ever despite rising gas prices and fears of air delays.
A record 38.7 million U.S. residents were expected to travel 50 miles or more for the holiday.
Travelers’ early starts and planning helped make the first hours of the exodus unexpectedly smooth for some people. However, delays began building in the late morning at airports serving Boston and New York City because of passenger volume and weather (low ceiling/visibility). Such delays in the New York area can boomerang through air traffic nationwide.
In Denver, light snow is falling with about two inches forecast. Chicago could get up to four inches of snow this evening. The city’s O’Hare airport is the biggest hub for United Airlines; the airport expects 207,000 travelers to pass through it today.
“A sharp cold front will allow a changeover to snow to take place from northeastern Kansas to northern Illinois, including Chicago,” Kristina Baker, a meteorologist with AccuWeather.com, said. “Snow and frozen wet spots will lead to hazardous travel toward evening as temperatures plummet.”
Early this morning, light check-in traffic surprised travelers departing from the United Airlines terminal at Los Angeles International Airport.
“We were expecting a much longer delay. LAX is infamous for that,” said Charles Gwyer, 70, of Philadelphia. He and his wife spent the night at a nearby hotel before continuing on to Hawaii for a family gathering.
.