Local News

3.9 Million Texans Expected To Travel This Thanksgiving

November 16, 2016 / 9:15 AM CST / CBS Texas

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NORTH TEXAS (CBSDFW.COM) - This year is predicted to be the busiest Thanksgiving travel season in nearly a decade.

AAA is projecting that 3.9 million Texans will travel 50 miles or more from home for the Thanksgiving holiday, the most travelers in Texas since 2007.

It's projected that there will be 160,000 more people on the road next week, compared to last year. The Thanksgiving holiday travel period is defined as November 23 to November 27.

Rhonda Wilson, with AAA Texas, said, ""Most Texans will reach their Thanksgiving Dinner tables by taking a tried and true holiday road trip." That means about 94 percent of Texans are expected to travel by automobile, 5 percent by air and 1 percent by other means.

Possible backups at the airport means more patience for travelers and more work for those with the Transportation Security Administration (TSA).

TSA workers are preparing to screen millions of flyers this holiday season. That means those barrels located near the body screen machines will be full of items that passengers had to surrender. TSA workers at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport showed news crews a table filled with prohibited items that included everything from bottles of lotion and hair products, to knives and guns.

For those 'gassing' up to hit the road, there's also good news at the pump. AAA says estimates drivers across the country have saved more than $28 billion so far on gasoline this year compared to the same period last year.

The lower gas prices are just one of the reasons North Texas traveler Amy Cameron is planning to drive to Mississippi for the holiday. "It definitely helps just because gas is a lot cheaper and so it's easier for us to travel," she said.

In all, the group says that nationwide, 48.6 million people are projected to travel for Thanksgiving.