Thanksgiving is this week, and travel organization AAA predicts the highest number of travelers on the nation’s roads, skies, rails and waterways in more than a decade.

An estimated 50.9 million Americans will journey 50 miles or more over the holiday weekend (Nov. 22–26) — a 3.3 percent increase over last year and the highest number of travelers since 2005.

“A strong economy and labor market are generating rising incomes and higher consumer confidence, fueling a strong year for the travel industry, which will continue into the holiday season,” said Bill Sutherland, senior vice president, travel and publishing, AAA.

Let’s look at the travel forecast numbers.

According to AAA, 89 percent of all travelers (45.5 million) will hit the road for Thanksgiving, despite the fact car rental daily rates are at a five-year high due to the increase in demand, and gas prices are at the highest since 2014.

The largest growth in holiday travel is by air at 5 percent, with 3.95 million travelers. Fortunately, for those 3.95 million people, airfare is at its cheapest in five years for a round-trip flight for the top 40 domestic routes, at $157 on average — a 23 percent fare drop year-over-year.

Travel by train and other modes of transportation including buses and cruises is expected to increase 1.1 percent to 1.48 million travelers.

Due to the especially high number of travelers, AAA warns of challenges. Based on historical and recent travel trends, transportation analytics company INRIX predicts drivers will experience the greatest amount of congestion during the early evenings over the weekend, so give yourself plenty of time to get where you’re going.

The top traffic hot spots in America’s most congested cities are Interstate 5 South at Valley View Avenue in Los Angeles; Interstate 495 at NY-106/NY-107 in New York; Interstate 80 East at Pinole Valley Road in San Francisco; Interstate 75 North at Chastain Road in Atlanta; Interstate 95 North at Congress Avenue in Miami; I-95 South at US-17/US-1 in Washington, D.C.; Interstate 90 West at Interstate 84/US-20 in Boston; Interstate 90 West at Interstate 190 in Chicago; and Interstate 405 South at WA-167 in Seattle.

While the worst time to travel to the country’s busiest airports was yesterday evening, congestion will still be high throughout the day today. Give yourself extra time if you’re flying out of or into New York (JFK), Chicago (ORD), Los Angeles (LAX), Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW), Las Vegas (LAS), San Francisco (SFO), Seattle (SEA) or Charlotte (CLT).

According to Hertz, the busiest airport pick-up locations for travelers planning to rent a car this Thanksgiving are Orlando (MCO), Los Angeles, Miami (MIA), Las Vegas and Fort Lauderdale (FLL).

Whether you’re driving, flying or staying put, the FXExpress Publications, Inc. team wishes you a safe and happy Thanksgiving holiday!