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Airports will have plenty of delays ahead of and during Thanksgiving week

Posted at 2:16 PM, Nov 13, 2018
and last updated 2018-11-13 15:16:16-05

Next week will be the most-traveled in the history of flying, travel analysts are predicting.

Records will be set, those in the travel industry say. There will be huge crowds moving through airports to visit family and friends for Thanksgiving.

It won't be easy for air travelers, especially on Wednesday, Nov. 21, ValuePenguin reports. Most travelers know to get to airports well ahead of their departure times. But seriously, go early — it will be the busiest day of the year for airports, and the extra time is crucial to making it to a terminal on time.

"Delays (ahead of the holiday) start to really spike during the 11-day period before Thanksgiving," ValuePenguin reports. Delayed flights will especially be plentiful this Friday — six days before the Thanksgiving holiday.

"Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey experiences the worst delay times before Thanksgiving, with Palm Beach International Airport in Florida coming in close second," the travel watchdog website says. "McCarren International Airport in Nevada experiences the most drastic increase in the proportion of delayed flights before Thanksgiving, increasing by more than 21 percentage points."

Delays are usually caused by things such as issues with aircraft, weather, and the biggest reason — delayed arrivals of aircraft from their previous stops.