The Thanksgiving travel rush is officially underway, and Chicago airports expect to see record numbers of travelers this week. 

The Chicago Department of Aviation announced that O'Hare and Midway airports are expected to see nearly 2 million passengers this week, with O'Hare handling more than 1.6 million passengers alone. That's a 10% increase from last year.

American Airlines is adding nearly 40% more flights out of O'Hare this Thanksgiving.

Chicago-based United Airlines expects to move 6.6 million passengers nationwide, calling this its busiest Thanksgiving ever.

Laura Mandile, United Airlines' managing director of customer service at O'Hare Airport, said Sunday is scheduled to be the busiest day, with 700 flights and nearly 600,000 customers. 

"Here at O'Hare, we're averaging about 64,000 seats per day," Mandile said.

REAL and digital IDs at Chicago airports

Thanksgiving travel is also the first holiday travel where REAL and digital IDs can be used. As O'Hare passengers make their way through the airport, flyers like Tami Robinette and her family from Genoa are on their way to sunnier destinations.

"We're excited to get out of cold Illinois, the snow's coming, so we're excited to get out of here and go lay on the beach," she said.

Robinette said she's made sure her family has their REAL IDs ready, though she said with the chaos air travel can bring, she doesn't yet feel comfortable adapting to the new digital wallet option.

"I haven't gotten it on the phone yet, I'm a little old for that process ... I like having the card," she said.

The TSA said Illinois airports are only accepting digital IDs on Apple Wallet for domestic travelers.

Jim Spriggs, federal security director for the State of Illinois, said Chicago airports are ready for record numbers of passengers with staff back to normal following the government shutdown.

"We work closely with our airline and airport stakeholders to look at their volume and the passenger arrival curves, to make sure we're where we need to be, when we need to be there," he said.

The majority of the flights at O'Hare were on schedule, with others only a few minutes to an hour. Most delays and cancellations over the past week have been weather-related.

Officials are advising travelers to arrive two hours before their flight, but three if they're flying internationally. They are also advised to book parking ahead of time.