Thanksgiving Travel Off to a Bad Start

November 19, 2007 | Posted in: Holiday Travel
Well, don’t shoot the messenger, but things aren’t looking good on the Thanksgiving travel front so far. We’ve been saying for a while that larger crowds, reduced seats, and general holiday travel chaos were going to make things a little rough for travelers this year. But like so many things, it’s the uncontrollable and unforeseen problems that really throw a wrench into the works.

Weather has already slowed down Thanksgiving air travel today. And it wasn’t your usual cold weather culprits in the Midwest that caused the problems:

“In Georgia, Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport saw flights delayed up to an hour due to heavy fog. In the Northeast, high winds caused delays at Newark International Airport in New Jersey and LaGuardia Airport in New York.” (from CNN)

On top of that, DFW Airport (Dallas/Ft. Worth) saw two of its control towers lose radio communication, delaying arrivals and departures. Hartsfield is the busiest airport in the country, and DFW isn’t far behind. When these airports (along with La Guardia and Newark) suffer delays, it sets back flights all over the country.

As I’ve said before, be prepared and be patient. We knew it was going to get a little crazy out there, but don’t let the delays ruin your holiday or your holiday spirit.

One Response to “Thanksgiving Travel Off to a Bad Start”

  1. pbaker says:

    W is on the National news excited about opening express lanes on the East Coast to expedite holiday traffic. Fact: almost all military airspace is shutdown on the holidays. Fact: over 90% of delays are based on only 2 things. Some form of weather (t-storms, fog, snow, etc); and over-scheduling of departures/arrivals on what the airport can handle (not enough cement/runways).
    Once delays begin, it snowballs throughout the day because the airline schedules (again based on good weather) each plane to run most of the day.

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