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Busiest Thanksgiving Return Day Packs U.S. Airports as Orlando Tops 177,000 Passengers

Record passenger loads are straining operations during the holiday return.

Overview

  • AAA estimates about 82 million people traveled for Thanksgiving, including roughly 73 million by car and nearly 9 million by air.
  • Orlando International expects more than 177,000 travelers today and nearly 1.9 million over the Nov. 21–Dec. 2 period, with about 4,000 more departures than this time last year.
  • MCO reported long lines with some delays and cancellations as airlines continue recovery after an Airbus software fix grounded hundreds of A320-family aircraft over the weekend.
  • Weather remained a wildcard, with travelers citing rain, thunderstorms, and a Chicago snowstorm as factors in delays and schedule uncertainty.
  • John Glenn International in Columbus logged its largest traveler counts in a year, with mostly smooth operations and some delays, as airports urged flyers to check status early and use programs like TSA PreCheck.