Millions expected to travel across the state this Thanksgiving

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY)– Thousands hitting the road, and taking to the skies ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday. 

Wednesday, or the day before Thanksgiving, is typically the busiest travel day of the year.  

But some people are already in route to their thanksgiving destinations, trying to beat the rush.

“I think this is going to be one of the busiest Thanksgiving holidays that we have seen in quite some time,” said Tiffany Wright, AAA Carolina’s Director of Public Affairs.  

People across the Cape Fear are packing their bags to hit the road for Thanksgiving.

“We are predicting that 1.6 million North Carolinians are going to be traveling 50 miles or more away from home for this Thanksgiving holiday. Now with that number, we are expecting that 1.4 million of those will be traveling by vehicle,” said Wright.  

The anticipated high number of people driving definitely was apparent at Wilmington International Airport on Tuesday. It was a rather slow day at ILM, with little-to-no issues with air travel.  

“I’ve already been given a seat, which is a rare occasion. I usually have to wait at the gate, but they did assign me a seat at the counter already,” said Alfonso Rojas, a holiday traveler who is flying standby.

“I haven’t picked anybody up from this airport and I’ve been here since 10 o clock, so it’s been 3 hours. That’s very rare,” said Gerald Sumpter, a Wilmington Cab Driver. 

“It’s actually been pretty easy. Everything went pretty smoothly. The TSA lines were pretty long but other than that there weren’t really any problems. I thought today was like, a big day to fly but I guess not,” said Brookes Foley & Harrison Fitzgerald, who flew from Boston to Wilmington.   

As of Tuesday night, all flights to and from ILM were arriving and departing on time. 

But if you are hitting the roads, experts say you may want to give yourself extra time.  

“I think people are just really eager to travel. There are no restrictions, so I think we are going to see some busy roads out there,” said Wright.

Tomorrow will likely be a different scene if you plan on traveling. Many people will be off work and out of school, which means the airports and the roads will more likely be packed as the holiday nears.