Traffic Chicago: Millions expected to pass through airports, hit roads Wednesday

CHICAGO (WLS) — The Thanksgiving travel rush is back on this year.

People getting behind the wheel or boarding a plane don’t seem fazed by higher gasoline and airfare prices than last year or the widespread concern about inflation and the economy.

Wednesday is the busiest travel day for this Thanksgiving holiday at Midway airport. Experts predict a passenger increase of over 24%.

Meanwhile, at O’Hare there is a passenger increase of just 2.7%, with the busiest day at O’Hare being Sunday.

Approximately 1.7 million travelers will pass through both Chicago airports this week into next Monday.

Live look at traffic across Chicago area

Nationwide, the TSA screened more than 2.6 million travelers on Monday, surpassing the 2.5 million screened the Monday before Thanksgiving in 2019. That is despite airfare costing passengers more than ever before.

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Gas prices are also higher than they have ever been this time of year.

Still, AAA predicts 54.6 million people will travel at least 50 miles from home in the U.S. this week, a 1.5% bump over Thanksgiving last year.

Of those commuters, 2.7 million are people from Illinois, and that number is also up from last year.

And there may be some good news at the pump, albeit slight; average gasoline prices in Chicago have fallen 19 cents per gallon in the last week. The national average has fallen over 11 cents per gallon in the last week.

TSA and Customs and Border Protection officials are already warning of longer than usual wait times and checkpoints, so travelers are urged to plan accordingly.