- The rush of holiday travel begins as Americans prepare for Thanksgiving
- Corpus Christi International Airport sees 12% increase in travelers since November 2022
- The Tuesday and Wednesday before Thanksgiving are the busiest travel days. For returning travel, Sunday and Monday are also considered very busy.
Across the U.S., travelers are rushing to get home before the turkey hits the table.
According to airline officials, the Tuesday and Wednesday before the Thanksgiving are considered the busiest travel days of the week. Many people return back home on Sunday and Monday, which are also considered busy travel days.
During this year’s travel period, AAA estimated there to be more than 55 million Americans traveling between the week of November 20 to the first week in January. The same data showed at least 4 million of them are Texans—-244,000 of them are hitting the skies.
Kevin Smith, the City of Corpus Christi’s Director of Aviation said Corpus Christi International Airport has been preparing for the busy season ahead of time.
The momentum of travel continues to change each year following the pandemic. CCIA said there has been a 12% increase in holiday travelers since November 2022.
“The airlines last November ran about a 90% load factor, which means they were pretty full,” Smith said. “Only 10% were available. This year, we’re looking at exactly the same. They’re all sitting at about a 90% load factor for bookings. So we do anticipate this month to be 10-12% over last November as well.”
To accommodate the increase in passengers, airlines won’t necessarily add more flights, CCIA said airlines are using larger planes with more seats, a practice called upgauging.
Despite the frustrations and chaos that can come with traveling, people flying into CCIA said their experience has been convenient and comfortable.
“It’s very easy, usually the flights are on time and I have luck when I fly out of Corpus,” Alexis Yzoubanezz said.
Other passengers traveling from different states and even countries said flying our of CCIA eliminates the hassle from driving to surrounding bigger cities and dealing with a packed airport.
“It’s my favorite airport to travel from because there isn’t so much stress of the security, getting here hours in advance. Especially because I fly internationally a lot and I can always find flights that are convenient for me,” Tatiana Spentzos said.
Despite facing those holiday travel woes, there’s a reward behind it all— getting to your destination safely and spending time with family for the most wonderful time of the year.
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