Thanksgiving travel in 2025 is shaping up to be both busier and more unpredictable than usual. After weeks of uncertainty due to the government shutdown ― which forced TSA agents and air traffic controllers to work without pay and led to strain across the aviation system ― travelers are now heading into the holiday rush just as those ripple effects begin to surface.
While the government might be back in business now, experts warn that the disruptions and staffing shortages triggered during the shutdown won’t disappear overnight. Add in potentially record-breaking Thanksgiving crowds, and millions of Americans could be facing a travel week that feels especially overwhelming.
So what exactly should travelers expect? We asked experts to break it down.
We may be in for record-breaking numbers of travelers.
“We are still expecting it to be one of the busiest travel weeks on record as so many people have already made plans to visit family and friends,” Katy Nastro, a spokesperson and travel expert for the flight alert service Going, told HuffPost.
