Buckle up. The AAA Thanksgiving travel forecast says 217,000 of you are hitting the road

WILMINGTON — Delawareans traveling this week for Thanksgiving hope they won’t be experiencing the plight of Steve Martin and John Candy in the classic Trains, Planes, and Automobiles movie as they head to see family and friends.

On the other hand, they may not be upset if some out-of-town travelers get delayed if they’re the ones who will start the inevitable family fight over politics, sports, or turkey stuffing.

AAA is projecting that more than one in five Delawareans (county breakdown below) will travel over the Thanksgiving holiday, a slight increase of 1.9% compared to last year. This could indicate that, in some households, Mom may be demanding someone else host for a change.

That’s 217,000 Delaware residents, with 91% of them (more than 198,000) packing the car, asking how long it’ll be before you get there; and arguing about switching off the unending Taylor Swift playlist.

For longer trips, more than 13,000 Delaware residents will stand in long lines at the airport — TSA expects to see its busiest Thanksgiving travel period on record, estimating its agents will screen 18.3 million people from Tuesday through Dec. 2, a 6 percent increase over last year. And then you’ll have to deal with someone hogging the armrest or eating stinky takeout.

And then there are the 4,000+ who fit into the “Other” category, which includes buses, trains, ships, or something else (perhaps walking to Pittsburgh or Philly to avoid getting there)—a 6% increase.

Now these percentage increases may be a bit misleading since the AAA Thanksgiving forecast includes seven days, with the addition of the Tuesday before the holiday and the Monday after.

“Thanksgiving is the busiest holiday for travel, as families and friends look forward to reconnecting over the holiday period, and travel is a big part of that,” said Jana Tidwell, manager of public and government affairs for AAA Mid-Atlantic. “As travel demand continues to soar and trends evolve due to remote work options and extended school holiday breaks, we’re expecting to set new records across the board, from driving to flying and cruising.”

AAA is projecting nearly 80 million people will travel over the holidays, an increase of 1.7M from last year and 2M from 2019. Just keep in mind that the longer your trip, the more of that 80 million you’ll see on the road if you’re a Delaware traveler.

If your plans include Tuesday or Wednesday afternoon travel, AAA says that’s the worst time because you’ll be competing (OK, they call it “sharing the road”) with evening commuters in many metropolitan areas.

Oh, wait…let’s not forget the weather forecast for this week. The words “rain” and “snow” appear in many places, and that could extend into the trip home.

So maybe the 80 percent of Delawareans who plan to stay home have got it right.

That said, AAA does not show how many people will invade the First State, so both traffic lanes are likely to be packed starting…RIGHT NOW.

2024 Projected Thanksgiving Travelers – Delaware