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About 1 million Americans a day filled airports and planes this weekend even as coronavirus deaths rose in the United States and public health experts begged people to stay home and d ‘Avoid large Thanksgiving gatherings.
And the crowds are only expected to increase. Next Sunday will probably be the busiest day of the holiday season.
To be sure, the number of people flying on Thanksgiving has more than halved from last year due to the rapidly worsening outbreak. However, the 3 million people who passed through U.S. airport checkpoints from Friday to Sunday marked the largest crowd since mid-March, when the COVID-19 crisis gripped the United States.
Many travelers don’t want to miss seeing their families and are confident that it is safe to do so. Additionally, many colleges have ended their in-person classes, prompting students to return home.
Laurie Pearcy, executive director of a Minneapolis law firm, flies to New Orleans to attend her daughter’s bridal shower and have a small Thanksgiving dinner with her son.
“I don’t want to make someone sick without knowing it. But I also don’t want to miss this special event for my only daughter, ”she said.
Stephen Browning, a retired executive from Tucson, Ariz., Will travel to Seattle for Thanksgiving with his sister. The celebration usually has up to 30 people; this year, only 10 are coming, and everyone has been asked to take a coronavirus test. He does not intend to remove his mask to eat or drink during the flight.
“This is my first flight since December 2019, so yes I have some concerns,” he said. “But I think most airlines are now acting responsibly and applying masks on all flights.”
Last week, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention urged Americans not to travel or vacation with people outside of their homes.
New cases of the virus in the United States have reached all-time highs, averaging more than 170,000 per day, and deaths have climbed to more than 1,500 per day, the highest level since spring. The virus is responsible for more than a quarter of a million deaths in the United States and more than 12 million confirmed infections.
“There is so much community transmission all over the United States that the chances that you will meet someone with COVID-19 are actually very, very high, whether it’s on a plane, at the airport or in a car. rest area, ”said Dr. Syra Madad, infectious disease epidemiologist for New York hospitals.
The country’s leading infectious disease specialist, Dr Anthony Fauci, told CBS “Face the Nation” that people at airports “are going to cause us even more problems than we are now.
The message may sink into some.
Bookings in 2020 are down about 60% compared to last year. Thanksgiving bookings increased in early October, but fell again as the number of cases increased. Since the airlines have made it easier to cancel tickets, there could be a string of cancellations closer to the holidays, said John Elder, airline advisor for the Boston Consulting Group.
In 2019, a record 26 million passengers and crew cleared U.S. airports during the 11-day period around Thanksgiving. This year, the Airlines for America industry trade group isn’t even providing forecasts because things are so uncertain.
Due to tighter restrictions imposed by many governments, air travel to other parts of the world is, on the other hand, almost at a standstill. In Europe, traffic between countries fell 83% in September compared to a year ago, and it has only worsened since then as many countries have imposed new limits.
Josh Holman and his family were planning to fly to Lake Tahoe and spend Thanksgiving with his brother, who lives in San Francisco, and his parents, who live in North Dakota. But they gave up on those plans.
“I consider it my civic duty not to spread this virus further,” said Holman, an assistant county attorney who lives outside of Detroit.
Alejandro Zuniga and his fiancée, Megan Muhs, who live in Costa Rica, briefly thought about flying to Wisconsin for Thanksgiving to see Muhs’ family, but decided against it. They also canceled a trip to the United States in December.
“No part of a great international trip seems safe at this point,” Zuniga said. The couple plan to make video calls to the family and broadcast the Detroit Lions football game on Thanksgiving Day.
More people tend to drive than fly over Thanksgiving, but even car travel is expected to decline, according to AAA. Based on surveys in mid-October, the association expected 47.8 million people to attend Thanksgiving gatherings, down 4% from a year ago. But AAA said the drop could turn out to be even bigger, given the worsening crisis.
Brad Carr and his wife, retirees who live in Griffin, Ga, debated whether to drive 35 miles north to his son’s house for Thanksgiving and eat at a separate table on the porch. But after the CDC’s announcement, they decided to stay home. Carr’s son will deliver their meal “to the Uber Eats,” Carr said.
Those who gather should eat outside, wear masks, stay 6 feet apart and have someone serve the food, the CDC said.
This is the plan of Juliana Walter’s family. Walter, a student at the University of Tampa, plans to take a coronavirus test and then return home to Maryland. Her parents have rented tents and outdoor heaters and will be hosting up to 30 masked family members for Thanksgiving dinner.
The holidays end a gloomy year for travel to the United States. Travel spending is expected to fall 45% from 2019 levels to $ 617 billion, according to the US Travel Association, a trade group.
Canceling Thanksgiving trips is painful for many families.
Kelly Kleber typically flies from Seattle to her hometown of Tucson, Arizona, to spend the holidays with her parents. They have a picnic to celebrate the life of her sister, who died on Thanksgiving in 2015. This year, Kleber is sending her parents a portrait of her sister and planning a video call for Thanksgiving.
“It will be difficult to be away from her family this year,” she said.
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