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Atlanta airport prepares for busy Thanksgiving travel season

By FOX 5 Atlanta Digital Team
Published  November 17, 2023 7:59am EST
Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport
FOX 5 Atlanta

Busy Thanksgiving travel day in Atlanta

This year is expected to be the busiest week for Thanksgiving travel ever, and the world's busiest airport in Atlanta is ready for the crowds.

ATLANTA - Travelers to the world's busiest airport in Atlanta should be ready for heavy crowds as millions of people get ready to head out for the Thanksgiving holiday.

Friday kicks off the peak days when people are traveling for Thanksgiving, and the Transportation Security Administration says this year's will be the "busiest ever."

Thanksgiving travelers already began filling Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport on Friday morning.

Cortney Coile was heading to New York for the holiday.

"We’re just going to have some family time, a little girls trip, and just going to check out some sightseeing places and have some fun," Coile said.

Coile is one of the 30 million passengers the TSA is expected to screen from Friday through the Tuesday after Thanksgiving.

A sign leads travelers to a Transportation Security Administration (TSA) check-point at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport in Atlanta. (Elijah Nouvelage/Bloomberg via Getty Images

"We expect this holiday season to be our busiest ever," TSA Administrator David Pekoske said in a statement. "We are ready for the anticipated volumes and are working closely with our airline and airport partners to make sure we are prepared for this busy holiday travel season." 

The agency says it will do its best to limit wait times to under 30 minutes for standard screenings.

Where weather could cause problems for Thanksgiving travel this year

A lot of passengers like Tiffany Lawless were prepared to see the Atlanta airport packed with people.

"We were pleasantly surprised that it’s not as busy as we expected because we’re coming a little bit earlier, so we’re happy to beat the rush," Lawless said.

Construction to make airport parking a bigger hassle

Come Oct. 23, the South Economy Parking Lot at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport will shut down to make way for a new parking deck, eliminating more than 3,000 spots temporarily.

In 2023, the TSA recorded its highest volume travel day in history at over 2.8 million people. Historically, the three busiest travel days during the holiday period are the Tuesday and Wednesday before Thanksgiving and the Sunday afterward.

Atlanta-based Delta Air Lines told FOX 5 it expects over half a million more customers compared to 2022.

If you're heading out for the holidays, airport officials say you should get here early and take public transportation if possible.

The TSA is also warning travelers to make sure that any gravy, cranberry sauce, or mashed potatoes stay in checked luggage because they're all technically liquids.