TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — AAA expects 55 million Americans to travel for Thanksgiving, nearly reaching pre-pandemic levels. 4.5 million of them will be flying to their Thanksgiving destination this week, which is a 7.9% increase from last year.
For the Tucson International Airport, they are expecting 76,000 passengers this Thanksgiving weekend.
“It’s been a hard three years and it’s nice to see the number of people traveling again. There is a lot of pent up demand for travel we’re seeing really high load factors on all of our flights. We are expecting all of our flights to be at least 95% full upwards and a lot of them will be 100% full," said Bruce Goetz, Executive Vice President of Tucson Airport Authority.
Since, TIA is expecting full flights throughout the holiday weekend, they want to remind passengers about safety, patience, and being prepared.
“Expect crowds. It's going to be a busy week. We really expect almost every flight to be a 100% full so we do recommend people get here two hours ahead of time," said Bruce Goetz, Executive Vice President of Tucson Airport Authority.
Parking prices increased at the airport on Nov. 1 but with Thanksgiving travel, it’s important to know how much more this is going to cost you. The rate increases vary by facility. The daily rate is $2 more now.
This is a nearly 20% increase in operating expenses since 2017, which is the last time parking rates went up. This goes for all public parking facilities, including the daily and hourly lots, the parking garage, and the economy covered and uncovered lots.
You can also reserved a parking spot to allow for extra time if needed. For more on parking, visit the airport's website.
Although Wednesday is expected to be one of the busiest travel days of the year, it’s the Sunday after Thanksgiving that is bringing in the biggest crowds with people hurrying home for work and school after the holiday.
TIA says that even if are an experienced flyer, there’s going to be a lot of people who haven’t traveled in a long time so be patient and plan for lots of extra time.
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Brooke Chau is a reporter for KGUN 9. She was a part of Fresno State's newscast, Fresno State Focus and interned at KFSN-ABC30 in Fresno, CA before coming to KGUN 9. Share your story ideas and important issues with Brooke by emailing brooke.chau@kgun9.com or by connecting on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
