The Thanksgiving holiday travel rush is expected to kick into high gear Tuesday, with about 6.78 million Southern California residents expected to hit the roads or airways.
According to the Auto Club of Southern California -- which defines the holiday travel period as Tuesday through Monday -- the number of projected travelers is about 7% higher than the pre-pandemic level in 2019.
The projected number of travelers is a 2.8% increase from last year.
The vast majority of travelers -- 5.88 million -- are expected to travel by car, while 704,000 will fly and 196,000 will take other forms of travel such as train, bus or cruise ship.
Nationally, 81.8 million people are expected to travel 50 miles or more for the holiday, also a record number that tops last year's figure by 1.6 million, according to the Auto Club.
"Thanksgiving travel has always been popular, but has grown into an even greater priority in recent years after the pandemic limited those opportunities to connect with family and friends," Auto Club spokesman Doug Shupe said in a statement. "Southern Californians go the distance to spend time with family and friends. This holiday is one of the busiest -- and most meaningful -- times to travel each year."
The Auto Club noted that Southern California travelers will be paying some of the highest gas prices of the year, with a gallon of gas averaging about $4.66. Top travel destinations include San Diego, Las Vegas, Disneyland and the Bay Area.
According to the transportation analytics firm INRIX, Tuesday and Wednesday afternoons before Thanksgiving are expected to be the most congested times on area roadways, while Sunday after Thanksgiving will see the heaviest return traffic.
Shupe told KNX News’ Jon Baird that drivers should leave as early as possible.
"Get up and hit the road before 11 a.m.,” he advised. “What you want to do is avoid those afternoon rush hour times when people heading home from work are mixing on the roads with the people who are heading into town, and that's the same for the return trip on Sunday.”
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Officials at Los Angeles International Airport said they were expecting a total of 2.5 million people to pass through the airport during the time period that began last Thursday and ending Monday. Sunday is expected to be the single busiest day, with 230,000 people anticipated at the airport.
Airport officials urged travelers to arrive at least two hours early for domestic flights, and three hours for international trips. They also advised people to pre-book parking by visiting parking.flylax.com, where they can review available spaces and rates.
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