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Every year, Keith McAlister’s responsibility during Thanksgiving is to untangle a garland of almost 500 strung-together wine corks that his cousins put on one of their Christmas trees.
“It always gets jumbled up,” McAlister, a 68-year-old retiree from Cleveland, Tennessee, said at the Chattanooga Airport on Tuesday morning. “It’s like the old joke. You know how to tie the hardest knot? Just take your earbuds and put them in your pocket — the old wired kind.”
(READ MORE: A guide to Thanksgiving travel after the government shutdown)
McAlister is traveling to West Bend, Wisconsin, for the holidays to visit his cousins, and he was relaxing in a chair outside the security line as he waited for his flight. He’s one of nearly 82 million Americans traveling at least 50 miles for the Thanksgiving holiday period this year, according to annual data released by AAA. The group defines that time frame as Tuesday before Thanksgiving through the following Monday.
In Tennessee, AAA projects more than 1.9 million residents will take a trip during that period, an almost 2% increase over the prior year. The vast majority of those people — about 96% — will travel by car. A much smaller proportion — almost 3% — will catch a flight. The remainder will make the trek by bus, train or other modes of transportation.
For McAlister, who will land in Milwaukee after connecting through Atlanta, the choice was easy.
“It’s a three-hour flight versus a 14-hour drive, so no comparison,” McAlister said.
Nationally, the number of holiday travelers has been on a steady march upward after cratering during the pandemic. In 2019, 77.8 million Americans took a trip versus 56.8 million in 2020. The number of travelers surpassed pre-pandemic levels in 2023 and have continued to tick up. The forecast of 81.8 million in 2025 would be a new record.
During the recent federal government shutdown, the Federal Aviation Administration briefly ordered airlines to cut flights in top markets amid a shortage of air traffic controllers. The Chattanooga Airport wasn’t significantly impacted by the directive, although many of its connecting hubs were affected.
Those orders have since lifted, and flights have returned to normal, although AAA projects the roughly 73 million Americans it expects to drive this year could end up higher because of recent flight cancellations.
“Tennesseans are embracing the Thanksgiving spirit with record-breaking travel plans this year,” Debbie Haas, vice president of travel for AAA, said in a press release. “Whether it’s driving across the state or flying across the country, people are making time to connect with loved ones. Even with concerns about flight cancellations, travelers are showing flexibility and resilience and relying most on driving.”
Concerns about any lingering effects of the shutdown weren’t top of mind for local travelers. Gus and Heidi Martin landed in Chattanooga on Tuesday morning after a trip to Phoenix. They took an international flight during the shutdown and didn’t encounter any issues.
The two plan to drive to Virginia to visit family for the holidays. They’re originally from Argentina and moved to the United States about 25 years ago. On Thanksgiving, the menu can be a medley of traditional dishes like mashed potatoes and turkey as well as empanadas and — for dessert — something sweet with dulce de leche.
Noah Sturges, a 22-year-old student at Southern Adventist University, was on his way to Peru on Tuesday with Himari Tono, also 22. The pair is visiting a friend who is getting married and might celebrate Thanksgiving while they’re there, although they don’t yet have definitive plans.
Normally, Sturges would be in Colorado with his family at this time of year, eating a bevy of Thanksgiving-esque food like turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, stuffing and different loaves and casseroles.
“We list things that we’re grateful for and just kind of do some fellowship,” he said.
Across the lobby area, Emily Owens, a 28-year-old stay-at-home mom, was waiting for her twin sister, who’s in the Air Force, to land in Chattanooga after a flight from California. Owens’ three siblings are converging on Cleveland this year for Thanksgiving.
The family typically does a combined Thanksgiving and Christmas celebration, she said — turkey on Thursday and then presents on Friday.
“We’re throwing two holidays in one,” she said.
Contact business reporter David Floyd at dfloyd@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6249.
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