Holiday travelers pack airports, highways

CHICAGO, Nov. 25 (UPI) -- Airport officials across the United States said they expect terminals to be stuffed Wednesday with travelers harboring visions of a long Thanksgiving holiday.

Airline executives said they noticed a shift in travel plans as travelers began their jaunts last week, taking advantage of earlier, and often less expensive, flights for a holiday getaway, The New York Times reported.

United Airlines, for example, said it began its holiday preparations in October, when teams across the airline and at its five hubs began daily briefings on the holiday schedule, and adding staff to deal with the anticipated crush of passengers.

Cost-conscious Thanksgiving travelers actually increased the airline's chances of running more smoothly, said Donald Dillman, a United Airlines vice president in charge of the company's operations control center near Chicago O'Hare International Airport.

"The earlier you go, the more choices you'll have" if there is a delay, Dillman said, offering his own travel advice: "Avoid Sunday at all costs."

AAA said an estimated 2.3 million people will fly to holiday destinations nationally, down 6.7 percent from a year ago and continuing a decade-long drop in Thanksgiving air travel.

An estimated 33.2 million people nationwide will hit the highways during what is traditionally a four-day weekend, up 2.1 percent from last year, AAA said.

The national average price of unleaded gasoline was $2.636 per gallon Wednesday, AAA said.