Thanksgiving Rush: Record Number Of People Traveling For The Holiday

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CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Thanksgiving travelers got help from favorable weather in most of the United States on Tuesday, but flight delays piled up at airports around the country by day’s end.

Wintry weather across the east and rain in the west could make things more difficult.

The AAA auto club predicts that 54.3 million Americans will travel at least 50 miles from home between Wednesday and Sunday, the highest number since 2005 and about a 5 percent increase over last year.

AAA says 48 million are hitting the road for the holiday, which is a 5 percent increase from last year, and 4.7 million will fly.

Today is the second busiest day at Charlotte-Douglas Airport. TSA expects to screen nearly 32,000 more people than usual.

Falling gas prices are to blame for the record holiday travel. You can expect the worst traffic from 9-12 today and from 4-8 in the evening. Traffic will be heaviest at 4 p.m..

Traffic was already bumper to bumper on Tuesday night.

Sunday will be the busiest day after Thanksgiving at Charlotte Douglas. People will get on the roads first thing in the morning to try to beat the crowd to return home.