2023 Holiday travel hacks
FOX 5 NY’s Kendall Green takes a closer look at Expedia’s 2024 Air Travel Hacks report, with all the ins and outs of the best and worst times to travel.
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NEW YORK CITY – The dreaded holiday travel season kicks off Friday as millions in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut may face off against a coastal storm threatening their journeys home and away for Thanksgiving.
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Here’s what travelers need to know before hitting the road, heading to the airport or booking their Amtrak ticket this season.
Air Travel
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The Transportation Security Administration announced it’s expecting the upcoming holiday travel season to be “the busiest ever.”
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The declaration comes after the TSA recorded seven of its ten highest volume travel days in its history so far in 2023, with the 2,884,783 passengers on June 30 being the most on record.
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According to the TSA, the holiday season begins with a Thanksgiving travel period between Friday, Nov. 17 and Tuesday, Nov. 28.
Best and Worst Times to Drive
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The Wednesday before Thanksgiving is the worst time to travel, specifically from 2 to 6 p.m., AAA said. Travelers are urged to leave before 11 a.m.
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- Thanksgiving: The worst time to travel is between 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Travelers are urged to leave before 10 a.m. or after 5 p.m.
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A view of a traffic jam after flooding on the Garden State Parkway Northbound in Newark. (Photo by Kyle Mazza/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images) –> <!–>
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- Black Friday: The worst time to travel is from noon to 4 p.m. Travelers are urged to leave before 11 a.m. or after 7 p.m.
- The weekend: The worst time to travel is between 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. Travelers are urged try to leave before noon.
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Cars travel on the New Jersey Turnpike. (Photo by Gary Hershorn/Getty Images) –> <!–>
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This Thanksgiving weekend, AAA said the New York City area will see its worst traffic on the Garden State Parkway on Sunday, Nov. 26. Drivers traveling northbound from the Jersey Shore to New York can expect to stay on the parkway for 1 hour and 51 minutes around 11:15 a.m.
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Thanksgiving travel weather
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Thanksgiving is just around the corner, and the FOX Forecast Center is closely monitoring a cold front and coastal storm approaching the Eastern Seaboard.
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This could cause delays for travelers in the Northeast and New England who were planning to start their holiday travel early this weekend.
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Rain and snow forecast through Sunday, Nov. 19, 2023. (FOX Weather) <!–>
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Rain totals aren’t expected to amount to much, but combined with gusty winds delays are expected both in the air and on the roads.
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Cities such as Philadelphia and New York aren’t expected to see high rainfall accumulations, but Boston could see higher totals, depending on how quickly tropical moisture lifts northwards.
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(FOX Weather) –> <!–>
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Later in the week, another system will dive south out of Canada from Tuesday into Wednesday, bringing a blast of cold air along with it. This could lead to snow for most of the Great Lakes region, with some in the form of lake-effect snow. This system is then expected to swing into the Northeast just in time for Thanksgiving, threatening to bring rain and snow for the holiday.
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THANKSGIVING FOODS YOUR DOG CAN SAFELY EAT AND ONES TO AVOID
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It’s still too early to determine the exact impacts, so we’ll continue monitoring each day.
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Find more updates on this story at FOXWeather.com.
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LaGuardia Airport
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In a tweet, the airport said, “We can’t stress this enough – plan ahead and arrive early if you’re traveling for #Thanksgiving! Budget extra travel time to arrive at #LaGuardia, park in your reserved spot, check-in, and get through security.”
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Newark Liberty International Airport
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In a tweet, the airport said, “Traveling for #Thanksgiving? It’s going to be busy. Please budget extra travel time to arrive at #Newark Liberty, park in your reserved spot, check in, and get through security.”
John F. Kennedy International Airport
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In a tweet, the airport said, “We can’t stress this enough – plan ahead and arrive early if you’re traveling for #Thanksgiving! Budget extra travel time to arrive at #JFKAirport, park in your reserved spot, check in, and get through security.”
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TSA Administrator David Pekoske said the agency will do its best to “maintain wait time standards of under 10 minutes for TSA PreCheck lanes and under 30 minutes for standard screening lanes.”
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Pekoske said the agency will do its best to “maintain wait time standards of under 10 minutes for TSA PreCheck lanes and under 30 minutes for standard screening lanes.”
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Prior to this year’s record on June 30, the last time the TSA processed more than 2.88 million passengers in a single day was in December 2019, before the coronavirus pandemic.
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Travelers line up to enter a security checkpoint at Newark Liberty International Airport. (Photo by Jeenah Moon/Getty Images) <!–>
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AAA also said Monday that it is projecting 55.4 million people will travel 50 miles or more over a Thanksgiving travel period between Wednesday, Nov. 22 and Sunday, Nov. 26.
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To help travelers get through security and to where they need to be, the TSA recommends to “pack smart” and start with empty bags to decrease the likelihood of bringing a prohibited item through the checkpoint.
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It also said to have your identification ready as you enter the screening lane and arrive two hours prior to your plane’s departure for adequate time to be processed by agents.
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