No ‘Disrespectful Dress,’ Other Things To Know About Thanksgiving Travel

The long Thanksgiving travel week begins Tuesday, and whether they’re on the road or in the sky, Americans could be in for some big adjustments — including a new conduct code at airports that recalls a time when air travel was a “bastion of civility.”

The biggest difference will be in the sheer number of people traveling, especially on the road, AAA said in its 2025 Thanksgiving travel forecast.

A record 82 million Americans are expected to travel over the seven-day Thanksgiving travel period from Tuesday through Monday, Dec. 1, and about 73 million of them will be taking road trips, 1.3 million more than 2024, AAA said.

The increase in road trips can be partially attributed to the recent government shutdown and the uncertainty Americans felt about flying when air traffic controller shortages led to flight cancellations, AAA said.

While flight reductions at high-traffic airports have been lifted with the reopening of the government, travelers may experience some lingering travel disruptions, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy cautioned this week.

At the same time, Duffy warned about “disrespectful” clothing and disruptive behavior, among other things, as the Transportation Department launched a new civility campaign called “The Golden Age of Travel” that is “intended to jumpstart a nationwide conversation around how we can all restore courtesy and class to air travel,” according to a news release.

Here are some things to know about Thanksgiving travel and the civility campaign:

AAA Sees Another Travel Record

Thanksgiving is the single busiest holiday for travel compared to Memorial Day and July 4, according to AAA. About 82 million people, 1.6 million more than in 2024m are expected to travel 50 miles or more to their Thanksgiving destination.

“Thanksgiving travel numbers are always impressive because this holiday has become synonymous with heading out of town to spend time with loved ones,” Stacey Barber, vice president of AAA Travel said in a news release. “People are willing to brave the crowds and make last-minute adjustments to their plans to make lifelong memories, whether it’s visiting extended family or meeting up with friends.”

A Road Trip Holiday — Or Is It?

While AAA projects a record Thanksgiving on the roads, a survey from the fuel savings platform GasBuddy suggests that money worries are curbing some Americans’ enthusiasm to take a Thanksgiving road trip.

The platform’s 2025 Thanksgiving Travel Survey suggests the number of Americans taking holiday road trips will be down significantly this year, from 72 percent last year to 60 percent in 2025.

The worry isn’t Thanksgiving gas prices, which are the cheapest since the 2021 holiday and match last year’s, but the overall economy, according to GasBuddy.

“Gas prices are cooperating this Thanksgiving, but that’s not translating into more travelers,” Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, said in a news release. “Drivers have grown more resilient to price swings, yet I worry that concerns about a cooling economy may be weighing on Americans’ willingness to travel. Even with affordable gas, economic uncertainty can make people stay closer to home.”

Weather Is A Wild Card

Thanksgiving travel could be complicated by a sprawling storm that could bring severe weather to the eastern two-thirds of the country, according to AccuWeather.

The storm system is primarily a rain-maker, but some areas along the northern edges of the storm system could see snow.

Travel delays are possible both Tuesday and Wednesday as the storm moves from Texas through Arkansas, eastern Missouri and the southern half of Illinois.

“So there’s going to be some travel delays across the central part of the United States,” AccuWeather meteorologist Bernie Rayno said. “There could even be some strong to severe thunderstorms.”

Flights that pass through or originate from Chicago, Nashville, St. Louis, Houston and possibly Pittsburgh could see delays Tuesday.

By Wednesday, “the storm will be losing some of its intensity and moisture as it travels from the central states to the Northeast, but given the travel volume, even a few hours of rain can create significant problems on the roads and runways from Washington, D.C., to Philadelphia, New York City and Boston,” AccuWeather meteorologist Paul Pastelok said in the online forecast.

And what could be one of the earliest polar vortex disruptions ever recorded since the dawn of the satellite era could bring frigid air to much of the central and northern U.S. after Thanksgiving and into early December, accordion to the Climate Prediction Center.

“Following a warm start to November in the West and a cold start in the East, a significant pattern change is likely later in the month and into early December,” the NOAA agency wrote, adding that could mean more winter-like conditions across the west-central and central U.S., including much below-normal temperatures and the potential for heavy snow.

Are Airports Operating Normally?

Many Americans made their travel plans during the 43-day federal government shutdown, and that could lower the number of people flying to their Thanksgiving destinations this year.

Still, AAA estimates 6 million U.S. travelers are expected to take domestic flights over the travel period, a 2 percent increase from last year.

Ripple effects of the shutdown may be felt throughout the Thanksgiving travel period and beyond. Some air traffic controllers found paying work and quit their jobs during the shutdown, exacerbating what was already a dire shortage of certified air traffic controllers.

The same thing happened after the 35-day government shutdown in late 2018 and early 2019. The ranks of air traffic controllers were further depleted by employees who couldn’t pay rent or feed their families without their paychecks, and the aviation system faced operational challenges for many months.

It’s always a good idea to consult an app such as FlightAware for flight delays and cancellations. Delays tend to accumulate throughout the day, so early morning flights are the best bet.

What’s The New Civility Code?

The new “Golden Age of Travel” campaign responds to a dramatic increase in bad behavior on flights, according to the Transportation Department.

A public service video, which starts with “Come Fly Away,” made popular by Frank Sinatra, recalls a time when Americans “respected the dignity of air travel and the men and women who made it possible.” It then cuts to cellphone video footage captured over the past several years of unruly passengers shouting, pushing and fighting.

In-flight outbursts, which range from disruptive behavior to outright violence, have increased 400 percent since 2019, according to Federal Aviation Administration data. Also:

• Some 13,800 unruly passenger incidents have been reported since 2021;
• Unruly passenger reports increased six times over between 2020 and 2021;
• 1 in 5 flight attendants experienced physical incidents in 2021; and
• 2024 saw double the number of unruly passenger events compared with 2019.

Duffy didn’t spell out the exact expectations in the civility campaign, which aims to not only make the “travel experience better for the flying public,” but also “ensure the safety of passengers, gate workers, flight attendants, and pilots.”

In the video, Duffy suggested travelers give themselves a civility self-quiz that includes the following questions:

1. Are you helping a pregnant woman or the elderly with placing their bags in the overhead bin?
2. Are you dressing with respect?
3. Are you keeping control of your children and helping them through the airport?
4. Are you saying “thank you” to your flight attendants?
5. Are you saying “please” and “thank you” in general?

Watch The Video

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