Travelers walk through Reagan Washington National Airport in Arlington, Virginia, on Nov. 22, 2023, the day before Thanksgiving.

DALLAS — Just as there are good odds the turkey will taste dry, airports and highways are expected to be jam-packed during Thanksgiving week, a holiday period likely to end in another record day for air travel in the United States.

The people responsible for keeping security lines, boarding areas and jetliners moving — from the U.S. transportation secretary and airline chiefs on down the line — swear they are prepared for the crowds.

But a strike by service workers in Charlotte Douglas International Airport threatens a hub in the Carolinas.

Airline passengers might get lucky like they did last year, when relatively few flights were canceled during the holiday week. A repeat will require the weather’s cooperation. And even if skies are blue, a shortage of air traffic controllers could create delays.

By the numbers

Auto club and insurance company AAA predicts that more than 80 million Americans will venture at least 50 miles from home between Tuesday and next Monday. Most of them will travel by car.

Drivers should get a slight break on gas prices. The nationwide average price for gasoline was $3.06 a gallon on Sunday, down from $3.27 at this time last year.

The Transportation Security Administration expects to screen 18.3 million people at U.S. airports during the same seven-day stretch. That would be 6% more than during the corresponding days last year but fit a pattern set throughout 2024.

The TSA predicts that 3 million people will pass through airport security checkpoints on Sunday; more than that could break the record of 3.01 million set on the Sunday after the July Fourth holiday. Tuesday and Wednesday are expected to be the next-busiest air travel days of Thanksgiving week.

TSA says it’s ready

“This will be the busiest Thanksgiving ever in terms of air travel,” TSA Administrator David Pekoske said. “Fortunately, our staffing is also at the highest levels that they have ever been. We are ready.”

Pekoske said TSA will have enough screeners to keep general security lines under 30 minutes and lines for people who pay extra for PreCheck under 10 minutes.

FAA staffing shortage

However, an ongoing shortage of air traffic controllers could cause flight delays.

Federal Aviation Administration Administrator Mike Whitaker said last week that he expects his agency to use special measures to deal with shortages at some facilities. In the past, that has included airports in New York City and Florida.

“If we are short on staff, we will slow traffic as needed to keep the system safe,” Whitaker said.

The FAA has long struggled with a shortage of controllers that airline officials expect will last for years, despite the agency’s lofty hiring goals.

Advice for travelers

Airport security officials are pleading with passengers to arrive early, not to put lithium-ion batteries in checked bags in case they overheat, and to keep guns out of carry-on bags. TSA has discovered more than 6,000 guns at checkpoints this year, and most of them were loaded.

Holidays like Thanksgiving and Christmas bring out many infrequent travelers, and they often have questions about what they can bring on the plane.

TSA has a list on its website of items that are banned or restricted.

Portland International Airport

Thanksgiving week figures to be one of the busiest at Portland International Airport in many years, with more than 350,000 travelers flying in or out of PDX from Tuesday through Monday.

The busy holiday travel week comes as the number of passengers flying through PDX is finally approaching pre-pandemic levels.

Nearly 1.6 million passengers flew in or out of Portland in October, just 5% fewer than in the same month of 2019. PDX is on pace for well over 17 million passengers this year — 1 million more than in 2023.

“The rebound has been led by leisure travel, but business travel is making gains as well, and we’re seeing more inbound business travel as convention business builds back,” said Allison Ferré, spokesperson for the Port of Portland, which runs the airport.