Thanksgiving travel will be highest since 2005

Tuesday should be worst day for Seattle traffic, AAA reports

November 20, 2018 12:30 pm
Drivers on Highway 305 motor through foggy morning weather earlier this week on Bainbridge Island. (Brian Kelly | Bainbridge Island Review)
Drivers on Highway 305 motor through foggy morning weather earlier this week on Bainbridge Island. (Brian Kelly | Bainbridge Island Review)

Holiday travel for Thanksgiving will hit the highest level in more than a decade, according to AAA.

The vast majority of travelers — 48.5 million — will hit the road this Thanksgiving, nearly 5 percent more than last year. People traveling by air is expected to increase by 5.4 percent, with 4.27 million travelers, according to AAA.

Also in the holiday forecast: AAA projects 54.3 million Americans will journey 50 miles or more away from home this Thanksgiving, a 4.8 percent increase compared to last year.

All told, the 2018 holiday weekend will see the highest Thanksgiving travel volume in more than a dozen years — since 2005 — with 2.5 million more people taking to the nation’s roads, skies, rails and waterways compared with last year.

For the 48.5 million Americans planning a Thanksgiving road trip, INRIX, a global mobility analytics company, predicts travel times in the most congested cities in the U.S. could be as much as four times longer than a normal trip.

In the Seattle area, travel times are expected to be two times longer during the holiday week.

“Consumers have a lot to be thankful for this holiday season: higher wages, more disposable income and rising levels of household wealth,” said AAA spokeswoman Jennifer Cook. “This is translating into more travelers kicking off the holiday season with a Thanksgiving getaway, building on a positive year for the travel industry.”

The Thanksgiving holiday period is defined as Wednesday, Nov. 21 to Sunday, Nov. 25.

In most cases, AAA says the best days to travel will be on Thanksgiving Day, Friday or Saturday. Drivers should expect increased travel times on Sunday as most holiday travelers will be making their way home after the long weekend.

In Seattle, travel times are predicted to double from 4 to 6 p.m. Tuesday, making that the worst time to leave for your holiday.

Peak travel times to get to Seattle–Tacoma International Airport will be from 8 to 10 p.m. Wednesday.

Motorists can expect to pay the highest Thanksgiving gas prices in four years, AAA notes, with a national average of $2.79 as of Nov. 1 — 31-cents more than a year ago.

In Washington state, the average price just hit $3.50 per gallon on Tuesday, up more than 50 cents compared to last year.