An estimated 81.8 million Americans are traveling for Thanksgiving this year, making it the busiest travel season on record. According to projections from AAA, 6.1 million people are expected to fly, more than 73 million will travel by car, and another 2.5 million will use trains, buses, and cruise ships.
The record-breaking push comes at a precarious time for the nation’s travel infrastructure, which is grappling with aging systems and staffing challenges. The Federal Aviation Administration is at the center of the effort to manage the surge.
“For us, this week is our Super Bowl, and I’m here to tell you we’ve got a great plan,” said FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford.
The system is still feeling the effects of a 44-day government shutdown that forced TSA agents and FAA technicians to work without pay, causing significant staffing shortages and jumpstarting a wave of retirements.
“{We} used to have four controllers retire every day,” said Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy. “We now have 15 to 20 air traffic controllers retiring every day.”
These staffing concerns are tied to the system’s aging infrastructure. Earlier this year, radar outages at Newark Airport left controllers without reliable tracking information and raised serious safety concerns. The administration’s proposed solution is a complete rebuild. Congress has already approved $12.5 billion to begin the project, but Duffy is calling for another $20 billion to finish the work, warning that delays will only get worse without it.
“If we want less stories of delays and shutdowns, let’s do the work to fix the system, building a brand-new system,” Duffy said.
Complicating the travel picture is a major winter storm system bringing widespread cold, windy air, up to 9 inches of snow to the North and rain and thunderstorms to the South.
Despite the challenges, many were determined to reach their destinations. “It was really important for us to make the trip and suffer through this experience together as a family,” said one traveler at an airport.
With pressure from both the weather and the strained travel system, Secretary Duffy is launching a new campaign that puts the onus on travelers themselves, asking for more civility.
“I would encourage people to dress better and encourage us to behave better – try not to wear slippers and pajamas, I think that’s positive,” Duffy said. “Common courtesy and civility, I think, is going to work well. And I ask you to be patient with the TSA and our gate agents.”
