Over 872,000 Philadelphians are projected to hit the road for Thanksgiving, and other big holiday travel stats
Gas prices are down in Philly as more than 872,000 area residents are projected to travel by car during what many are calling the busiest Thanksgiving travel period on record.
On the menu this Thanksgiving: turkey — with a side of traffic.
Both AAA and the Transportation Security Agency (TSA) are predicting that this is going to be an extra busy Thanksgiving for travel. More than 79.9 million Americans will travel at least 50 miles — whether by car, plane, or public transit — for the holiday, AAA said, while TSA is calling this “the busiest Thanksgiving travel period on record,” with more than 18.3 million people projected to pass through airport security between the Tuesday before Turkey Day and the Monday after.
In other words, expect long airport security lines and congested roads. Today from 1 to 5 p.m. is the worst time to travel by car, according to AAA, while Turkey Day itself is the best, even as some much-needed all-day rain could complicate driving.
What does this mean for Philadelphians? We explain how holiday travel trends are shaping up in three charts.
Number of Philadelphians hitting the road: 872,000
Around 975,000 residents in Philadelphia and its five collar counties are expected to travel for Thanksgiving, according to AAA. Around 872,000 of those will travel by car, up 2% from 2023, to comprise 90% of local travelers. Air travel also is seeing a modest bump, with the motor club projecting that 84,000 area residents will fly for the holiday.
Trains, buses, and cruise ships — which AAA lumps together as “other” modes of travel — are seeing the biggest increase in Thanksgiving ridership from the year prior. Approximately 17,000 Philly-area travelers will take transit (or a cruise!) this Thanksgiving, a 5% jump from 2023.
» READ MORE: It will likely rain for Philadelphia’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, meteorologists say
Average cost of a gallon of gas: $3.16
One thing to be thankful for this Thanksgiving? Lower gas prices.
The average cost per gallon of regular unleaded gas was $3.16 in Philadelphia and the surrounding Pennsylvania counties as of Tuesday, according to data kept by AAA, down 38 cents from the same day a year ago, when the average was $3.54.
Philadelphia’s cost per gallon is also lower than the average for the state, which comes in at $3.25. In Northampton County — which includes parts of Bethlehem, Easton, and several small Lehigh Valley towns — an average gallon of regular gas is $3.10, making it the cheapest in Pennsylvania. So if you’re visiting family in those parts, maybe fill up your tank there.
Travelers passing through PHL: 1,043,152
Philadelphia International Airport projects that more than 1.04 million people will fly into or out of the airport from Nov. 22 through Dec. 3, said spokesperson Heather Redfern, which would make it the first time the airport cracked 1 million potential passengers around the holiday since at least 2022. The year prior, PHL projected that 929,423 people would pass through.
The airport makes these projections based on the number of seats available from airlines serving PHL. “Air travel is up across the country,” Redfern said. “PHL’s passenger numbers have been moving toward pre-pandemic levels throughout the year.”
Redfern attributes this growth to the airport consistently offering flights to new destinations. Through Frontier Airlines, PHL began offering more flights this summer to Detroit, Pittsburgh, Minneapolis, Chicago, and Pensacola, Fla. The airport is also considered one of the most punctual in the world.
Should your flight home for the holidays be unexpectedly canceled or delayed, there is a new pathway for recourse: The Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office has a new form for travelers to submit complaints about issues like delays, cancellations, and baggage fees for investigation.
» READ MORE: A new complaint form will allow Pa. travelers to call out airlines for delays and cancellations
Most popular Thanksgiving destination out of PHL: Atlanta
The Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport is the most popular destination for travelers flying out of PHL for Thanksgiving, said Redfern, which was tabulated based on the number of seats offered from the airport’s travel period of Nov. 22 to Dec. 3., not how full those flights are. Just over 38,000 seats were available on flights to ATL.
The rest of the top five is rounded out by Orlando International Airport, Boston Logan International Airport, Chicago O’Hare International Airport, and Charlotte Douglas International Airport. Like Atlanta, those destinations are major hubs for American, Delta, or United Airlines — save for Orlando, which is a hub for happiness. It’s a gateway to Walt Disney World.
Least popular Thanksgiving destination out of PHL: Dallas (lol)
The least popular destination out of PHL this Thanksgiving is Dallas Love Airport (DAL), a small domestic-only airport that’s not to be confused with the much larger Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport. Only 350 seats were made available on flights to DAL, a kismet coincidence given that — well — we hate that city’s football team.
Other unpopular Thanksgiving destinations include Roanoke, Va.; Dayton, Ohio; Lexington, Ky.; and Asheville, N.C., which was devastated by Hurricane Helene in September.