FAA reports ‘record number’ of Thanksgiving week flights

A “record number” of flights traveled across the U.S. during Thanksgiving week this year, the Federal Aviation Administration says. 

Between Sunday, Nov. 24 and Thursday, Nov. 28, the FAA says it “safely moved more than 232,000 flights” in the U.S., including 52,000 alone on Tuesday. 

A total of 12,137,606 people passed through Transportation Security Administration checkpoints during that timeframe, including more than 2.7 million the day before Thanksgiving, according to the latest figures from that agency.  

That’s an increase from the 11,740,934 passengers that the TSA recorded traveling during the same 5-day period last year. 

FAA OPENS UP MILITARY AIRSPACE FOR TRAVEL DURING THANKSGIVING PERIOD 

Travelers walk through Newark Liberty International Airport on Wednesday. (Reuters/Vincent Alban/TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY / Reuters)

“To help with East Coast traffic volume, the FAA used military airspace off the Atlantic Coast and Gulf of Mexico that the military released for commercial plane use,” the FAA told FOX Business in a statement. 

“Controllers implemented traffic management initiatives to help move air traffic expeditiously during bad weather in the Northeast and West Coast, and snow in the Rockies,” it continued. 

SENATE PANEL SLAMS US AIRLINES FOR ‘JUNK’ FEES, EXECUTIVES CALLED TO TESTIFY 

Travelers wait at a ride-sharing and taxi pickup area at Ronald Reagan National Airport ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday in Arlington, Virginia, U.S., on Wednesday, Nov. 27.  (Reuters/Benoit Tessier / Reuters)

“Despite the record numbers, only 0.3 percent of flights were cancelled, and delays were a record low of 1.2 percent of flights,” the FAA added. 

American Airlines planes sit parked at LaGuardia airport in New York City on Wednesday, Nov. 27. (Reuters/Shannon Stapleton / Reuters)

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“The FAA is ready for continued record flight volume through Monday,” it also said. “Today, low clouds and wind may cause some minor delays at New York airports and in Boston and Philadelphia. The Great Lakes area can expect snow Saturday through Monday.”