The US Thanksgiving travel period is shaping up to be the busiest since 2019 with 55.4 million Americans expected to travel 50 miles or more from home, according to a forecast from the American Automobile Association.
That makes for the third-highest Thanksgiving travel in records going back to 2000. As many as 49.1 million Americans are expected to drive, an increase of 1.7% compared to 2022. Pump prices fell to an average of $3.37 a gallon on November 12, more than 40 cents below the same time in 2022, AAA data show.
The uptick in holiday travel may not be enough to propel the country’s gasoline demand above seasonal norms thanks to steady improvements in fuel efficiency. The average vehicle is estimated to have covered 33.27 miles on a gallon of gasoline in 2022, 1.42 miles more than 2021 and 6.7 miles more than a decade earlier, according to data from the Environmental Protection Agency.
That’s a lot of fuel saved, and not counting the rising share of electric and hybrid vehicles. US gasoline consumption was more than 3% below the five-year average in late October, government data show.
As many as 4.7 million people are expected to fly during the Thanksgiving holiday, up 6.6% from 2022 and the highest since 2005, AAA said. Air passengers will also pay 5% more for domestic flights, while rental cars are down a sharp 20% from last year.
The Transportation Security Administration is expecting this year’s holiday travel season to be busier than ever, with daily screened passengers at the country’s airport checkpoints seen surpassing the 2.9 million record this Thanksgiving.
Read More: Average American’s Gasoline Use to Hit 20-Year Low, US Says
(Updates pump prices in second paragraph, adds TSA travel forecast in last paragraph)
