Fewer Americans to travel this Thanksgiving holiday

AAA predicts a roughly 10% drop in overall travel nationwide - News 11's Adonis Albright reports

YUMA, Ariz. (KYMA, KECY) - A lot less people are expected to travel this Thanksgiving holiday. That’s according to AAA Arizona, which predicts an overall 10% drop nationwide.

Air travel in particular is expected to plummet by nearly half from last year alone, while other forms of travel, not including by car, will see a drop of almost 76%.

Due to the record unemployment numbers brought about by the coronavirus pandemic, this is expected to be the biggest drop in travel for Thanksgiving since the great recession in 2008.

Despite this, people taking to the roads will likely see a slight increase from 2019 of about 0.3%.

Aldo Vazquez, a spokesperson for AAA Arizona, explains why.

"So that's a trend that we've been seeing this entire year, and that's because people are more in control of their environment. If people are heading out there on the road, depending on how many supplies they pack they can choose when and where they stop and how often. You know your environment when you're inside your own vehicle and so people just feel safer hitting the road rather than taking any other mode of transportation at the moment."

AAA also expects to rescue more than 413,000 Americans on the road this thanksgiving holiday travel period.

It's worth noting this data is the best-case scenario for holiday travel predictions. That's because these statistics were gathered in mid-October, before a significant spike in coronavirus cases swept the U.S.

If you are planning on heading out for Thanksgiving, AAA is asking you to make sure your car is road-ready. Vazquez said the best time to travel would be on Wednesday morning, where you will likely see the least amount of traffic out on the roads.