Thanksgiving Travelers Fill Parking At Reagan National Airport

WASHINGTON, DC — The parking areas at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport were full on Thursday as Thanksgiving travelers headed to the airport for the holiday weekend.

"If you are flying out of DCA today and were planning to park at the airport, please make alternative arrangements. Parking is only available to those who made advanced reservations," airport officials said in a tweet.

The 2021 Thanksgiving holiday weekend was expected to produce the most travel since before the coronavirus pandemic, with AAA predicting more than 53 million people would be traveling for the holiday.

That figure is up 13 percent from 2020 and brings travel volume to within 5 percent of the levels in 2019, AAA said.

Airline travel is up more than 80 percent from 2020, the result of easing restrictions and more people becoming comfortable with air travel again.

The Transportation Security Administration said it has screened nearly 11 million air passengers since Nov. 20, and was expecting to screen about 20 million during the Thanksgiving travel period, the most since 2019 when nearly 26 million Americans were on the move at that time, Reuters reported.

The TSA screened more than 2.3 million on Wednesday, the seventh straight day where more than 2 million air travelers were screened at airports across the country.

⚠️ PARKING UPDATE ⚠️

Terminal A garage: ⛔️
Terminal B/C garage ⛔️
Economy Lot ⛔️

If you are flying out of DCA today and were planning to park at the airport, please make alternative arrangements.

Parking is only available to those who made advanced reservations.
— Reagan Airport (@Reagan_Airport) November 25, 2021