Thanksgiving travel season underway, COS Airport prepares for busy lines

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) - Whether you're hitting the roads or air, this week is expected to be a record breaking Thanksgiving travel season.

AAA is forecasting Thanksgiving 2023 as the third busiest holiday since record keeping began in 2000.

55 million Americans are expected to travel for the holidays. 26,000 of them are expected to fly out of the Colorado Springs Airport.

From a TSA expansion to adding additional flights, officials with the Colorado Springs Airport say they’re prepared for a busy travel week.

200 outbound flights are scheduled to depart over the next 7 days — though certain days will have higher traffic than others.

“The busiest travel days that we're projecting are the Wednesday before, the Saturday after, and the Monday following Thanksgiving - are going to be those peak travel days when you’re going to see elevated traffic,” Dana Schield, Colorado Springs Airport Senior Public Communications Specialist says.

Airport officials highly recommend getting there at least 2 hours before schedule departure time and to keep track of your flight status regularly.

Those traveling by car this Thanksgiving week can be thankful for the lowest gas prices we’ve seen in months.

AAA reports gas prices are plummeting across the state and in the Colorado Springs, Pueblo area: prices fell 55 cents per gallon - making today the cheapest Monday for gas prices in the U.S. since January.

However, they say those lower prices will only lead to higher traffic numbers.

"On I-25, within the front range from the Springs to Fort Collins, around major metros, you should budget around 25% extra drive time just because so many folks are hitting the roads,” Skyler McKinley says.

AAA says the busiest road travel days will be the Tuesday and Wednesday before Thanksgiving and the following Sunday and Monday.

Nevertheless, however travelers plan to get to their destination, AAA advises people to pack extra time and patience.