Thanksgiving travel ramps up at Bay Area airports
OAKLAND, Calif. - The holiday travel season is gearing up, and AAA expects records to be broken in every form of travel - even crusing. About 6 million people are expected to travel by plane, that's more than pre-pandemic levels.
But Oakland International Airport was pretty quiet early Tuesday morning and there were only minor delays reported.
OAK is expecting to see around 340,000 travelers pass through the airport this week.
"All the traffic doesn't really bother me, because everyone is going out to have a good time and be thankful," Frances Sims of Antioch told KTVU before her flight to Ontario.
In total, 6.3 million travelers are expected at SFO between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day, an estimated 15% increase over 2023 holiday travel levels.
SFO saw crowds show up in waves, with busy TSA lines throughout the morning. Still, it wasn't as bad as many passengers thought it would be.
"I can’t believe how open it is," said Sandy VanMell, heading to Ithaca, New York to visit her daughters and grandchildren. "I can’t explain it. They’ve been preparing us for the worst."
She was hopeful she and her husband wouldn't get caught in bad weather during their stop in Newark.
"I’m glad we got my ticket early then, because I know later on it’s going to be unbelievable," said Shirley Hamilton, who is heading to Michigan to visit her grandkids, after skipping out on the tradition last year.
"I think I had a moment of delirium because I didn’t remember this is how it was for Thanksgiving, but I’m a patient person. If you’re patient, you won’t age," she said.
But even with a lot of flying ahead, she said it's worth it to see family. And that's a sentiment many passengers shared.
Airports aren't the only busy places this week. Millions of travelers are expected to hit the roads or ride trains or buses to visit loved ones this week.
An estimated 80 million people are expected to travel in some way this week. That's 2 million more than traveled at this time last year. Gas prices are lower this Thanksgiving season compared to last year.
"My plans are to go to San Diego to visit some friends, possibly LA, and stop off at LEGOLAND," said Lonnie Dixon of Lathrop.
Dixon owns both gas and electric cars, but he's choosing to take his Tesla.
"Save gas on my car….on top of that I think it's safer and more reliable than going on an airline, and less expensive," he said.
The CHP will begin maximum enforcement Wednesday at 6 pm through Sunday.
"We know that this is the time, where people are getting together, not just on Thanksgiving Day, but even the night before and during that weekend, people are home and celebrating," said CHP Sergeant Andrew Barclay. "So we know that this is the time where we tend to see more impaired drivers out there on the roadways, so having more officers out there, our goal is to try to keep people safe."
"Plan to hit some delays, give yourself some extra time," Barclay said. "Make sure that your vehicle is travel ready, especially if you're making a long drive."
Wednesday is expected to be the busiest day to pick up rental cars. Henry Allen of New Jersey didn't have to deal with any wait times on Tuesday.
"It's been very smooth, incredibly smooth, we had a great flight, unbelievable landing," said Allen, who is driving to Pebble Beach. "Got our bags in record time, so no complaints."
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